


In Our Hearts Love Shall Burn

by DalishGreyWarden



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Fluff, Major AU, Porn Without Plot, Romance, Some angst, crossover romances, plot what plot in some cases
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-03-31 12:51:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 38,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3978721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGreyWarden/pseuds/DalishGreyWarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ostanna Lavellan is in Middle Earth on the orders from her Keeper to help Gandalf go on an adventure with a group of dwarves and one hobbit. Ostanna is an easy going, laid back elf that is up for anything and loves adventures, though Thorin grates on her nerves the beginning part of the adventure. And then when he saves her life, she finds herself falling for him, shocking her terribly because she never expected to fall in love during this little adventure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Company

I tipped the brown bottle in my hand back, the head of the bottle pressed to my lips as I took a swig of my Angry Orchard, looking out over the crowded tavern from my little corner where it was secluded and I could watch people from the safety of my hooded cloak just in case. It was rare for me to leave my clan, but I had been informed by the Keeper that my skills as a thief were needed by a man named Gandalf. So here I was, sitting in some strange tavern in Middle Earth, waiting on this Gandalf to show up to speak to me. I was getting impatient, however, and if he did not show up soon, I would take my leave of this place.

 

“Pardon me, are you Ostanna by chance?”

 

I looked up from my drink to see an old man with grey hair and a grey beard standing by my table and I nodded, watching him cautiously as he sat down.

 

“I am Gandalf the Grey. Your Keeper and I are old friends and she mentioned that you were a skilled thief.”

 

“Pleasure to meet you Gandalf ser. Was wondering when you were going to show up; I was getting antsy being around all the humans.” I said, shaking his hand firmly and took another pull of my cider. Gandalf flagged down a serving girl and ordered for the both of us and she offered to get me a new drink, which I readily agreed to.

 

“Now, what is it you need exactly, ser? Keeper Istimaethoriel was vague on the details of what I was burglaring.” I asked him after pushing the now empty bottle to the side of the table and leaned forward, inspecting Gandalf closely.

 

“Ah, yes, I did not tell her much, only that your skills would be needed. I am planning an adventure with a company of dwarves and a hobbit to take back Erebor, these dwarves home, from a dragon.”

 

I leaned back, arching my brows up in surprise and shook my head a little, stunned by what I just heard.

 

“And where do I come in exactly? I’m not really seeing how I fit into this picture exactly?”

 

The serving girl set our plates down in front of us and I dug in hungrily while waiting for Gandalf to explain.

 

“We need someone with exceptional skills of silence and sneaking and I had heard you were one of the best from multiple people, your Keeper and a Varric Tethras included.”

 

I slowly set my leg of lamb down, surprised to hear that he knew Varric of all people. If Varric was vouching for me, then it was no wonder Gandalf needed my skills; Varric had seen them first hand in Kirkwall when I was helping Hawke and company out with a few things.

 

“Alright then, Gandalf, I’ll help out. Is there a contract I need to sign?” I replied with a smirk and dug back into my food hungrily. I hadn’t eaten a whole lot on my travel here seeing as ships didn’t set well with my stomach and I came directly to this tavern in Bree to wait for Gandalf to show, so when my appetite came back, it came back with a vengeance.

 

“Excellent! Balin, one of the dwarves we’ll be traveling with, has your contract, though I’m afraid you’ll have to meet with us in the Shire at Bilbo Baggins’ home since he’s not here with me.” Gandalf explained and gave me directions to the Shire and explained how this door had a mark carved into to let us know it was the correct house. After he finished his plate, he paid for our meals and drinks and parted ways. I lifted the bottle to my lips again and took another long pull of my drink, killing it off and rose to my feet so I could inquire as to where I could possibly buy more supplies.

 

~*~*~

 

I finally got to the Shire a day and a half later, getting lost on the way there a few times, and now I just had to make it to this Bilbo’s house without getting lost. It took about ten minutes to get there thankfully but I hesitated a moment before knocking on the wooden door. I was still fairly unsure of this whole journey but if I got paid and it was good pay, then I supposed it would be worth it.

 

“Who are you?” Bilbo asked crossly when he opened the door. I bent down and flashed him a smile and a little wave.

 

“Ostanna Lavellan at your service ser. I am I late? Did I miss things?” I asked peeking into his house and saw a few dwarves go walking past, talking and laughing. With a slight grin, I followed Bilbo inside and grinned at Gandalf when I spotted him.

 

“Hey Wolf Eyes, glad to see you made it.” Varric grinned from his spot next to Gandalf and I laughed loudly, waving at my friend.

 

“Varric, it’s good to see you again! I wasn’t told you would be here. Where’s Hawke and the others? Did they come too?” I asked, taking a seat next to him and hugging him tightly.

 

“Ah you know Hawke. He’s always off an adventure of some sort. Said he’d catch up with us as soon as he could though, so that’ll be good. He and Isabela will be good to have around.” Varric replied cheerfully and handed me a mug of ale to drink. I accepted it gratefully and after clanking our mugs together in cheers, we drained them in a few gulps.

 

“I think it’s time to make some introductions. Ostanna, this is Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bomber, Nori, Dori and Ori. Guys, this is Ostanna Lavellan, but you can just call her Wolf Eyes or She-Wolf.”

 

“Aw, Varric, are you really sharing your nicknames for me? That’s so sweet.” I teased him with a cheeky grin, making him laugh too.

 

“It’s nice to meet you all.” I waved to them cheerily and they all boomed various hellos and at your services at me.

 

“So, Balin, might I take a look at my contract for a moment before I get too distracted drinking and having a good time?”

 

He handed me the folded up parchment which I promptly unfolded and read it all closely, nodding to myself over everything and signed it before handing it back over and shaking his hand firmly.

 

“Welcome to the Company, Ms. Ostanna.”


	2. That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates

“Pass another ale this way, would you?” I called down over to Fili with a wide grin on my face. I’d already become fast friends with him and his brother and I was having a ball just listening to everyone have some rather humorous banter going on. Varric had just finished up a particularly dirty joke which had Dwalin and Bofur nearly rolling on the floor with laughter while I was hanging out in between Kili and Varric, accepting the ale that Fili handed me and took a long pull from it.

 

“I see you’re settling in nicely.” Gandalf smiled down at me as he passed by us and I nodded eagerly.

 

“Aye, that I am Gandalf! I’m rather glad that the Keeper decided I needed to see the world a bit and have some time away from the clan.” I replied merrily, toasting the wizard before downing the rest of my drink. Pretty soon, everyone was up walking around, talking and generally getting into trouble with Bilbo which I found pretty amusing until I heard him and Gandalf arguing in the hallway.

 

“My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?” Gandalf asked the angry little Halfling.

 

“What’s the matter? I’m surrounded by dwarves and an elf. What are they doing here?”

 

“Oh, they’re quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them.”

 

I looked over at Varric, both of us a little surprised that Bilbo truly didn’t know we would be coming here and now I felt awful for my lack of respect and manners. We were invading his home, taking advantage of his hospitality and not one of us had said so much as a please or thank you to the poor fellow.

 

“I don’t want to get used to them. The state of my kitchen! There’s mud trod into the carpet, they’ve pi-pillaged the pantry. I’m not even going to tell you what they’ve done in the bathroom; they’ve all but destroyed the plumbing. I don’t understand what they’re doing in my house!”

 

“Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?” Ori asked and I was relieved to hear someone be polite to poor Mr. Baggins.

 

“Here you go, Ori, give it to me.” Fili said, took the plate from Ori and tossed it over to Kili who threw it behind him and into the kitchen where Bifur is standing in front of the sink. He caught it behind his back without even looking and I whistled, impressed by the catch. Soon, Kili, Fili and the others were tossing the dishes to each other, getting them to the kitchen in the most unique ways I’d ever seen and I used to hang out with a strange group of humans, elves and Varric so I was used to unusual, but this was something else entirely. As dishware flew through the air, Gandalf and I had to duck multiple times to avoid being clocked by the flying plates, bowls, etc.

 

“Excuse me, that’s my mother’s West Farthing crockery, it’s over one hundred years old!” Bilbo snapped at the dwarves, looking a little frantic as the dishes and utensils went soaring through the air. The dwarves that were still sitting with Varric and I at the table began to rhythmically drumming on the table with their fists and the utensils they were holding onto, which nearly sent Bilbo into a fit.

 

“And can – can you not do that! You’ll blunt them!” He shouted furiously and Bofur chuckled a little bit, smirking at us in amusement.

 

“Ooh, d’ya hear that lads? He says we’ll blunt the knives.” He had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face as he and the others continued up the pounding beat.

 

“ _Blunt the knives, bend the forks. Smash the bottles and burn the corks. Chip the glasses and crack the plates, that’s what Bilbo Baggins hates! Cut the cloth, tread on the fat, leave the bones on the bedroom mat, pour the milk on the pantry floor, splash the wine on the bedroom door!_ ” They began singing and I burst out laughing when Fili pulled me to my feet and twirled me about in a bit of an ungraceful but fun dance while everyone else, even Varric, was tossing the dishes about or playing instruments while bouncing bowls and plates off of their elbows and ankles and generally just being amazing the whole time.

 

“ _Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl, pound them up with a thumping pole, when you’ve finished if they are whole, send them down the hall to roll! That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates!_ ”

 

We dashed into the kitchen and saw all of the dishes and things were stacked nice and neatly, clean as a whistle and everyone was cracking up over Bilbo’s shock.

 

“Damn and I thought I saw everything pretty amazing when we were in Kirkwall, but I was very, very wrong.” I giggled to Varric and he started laughing too, patting my arm gently.

 

“Well hold on tight Wolf Eyes because shit is about to get really weird.” Varric said just as three loud knocks came from the front door.


	3. Surprise

“He is here.” Gandalf murmured as everyone but Varric and I shuffled into the entry hall to greet whoever was at the door. I glanced over at Varric, wondering if he knew, but he just motioned for me to follow after him and the others just as the door opened and the first thing I noticed about this new dwarf were his eyes. They were a sterling color, almost stormy grey and they were beautiful. My gaze tracked from his eyes to the rest of him, my eyes widened a little as I took him in, and studying the confident way he held himself as he walked in and removed his coat, hanging it up and giving everyone a quick look over, pausing when his steely gaze came to Varric and I.

 

“Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn’t have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door.” He said, his gaze moving over to Gandalf and I felt like I could breathe again. I hadn’t realized that I’d been holding it the whole time he was looking at us and my chest felt less tight now as well when I took a deep breath.

 

“You alright Wolf Eyes?” Varric whispered and I could only nod in reply, too awed to talk. Varric followed my line of sight and snorted in amusement when he realized I was checking out new guy.

 

“So this is the Hobbit. And I see Varric is here with an elven woman? Why are you here elf?”

 

I froze, eyes wide when he addressed me and Varric shoved me forward gently, following after so he could greet new guy.

 

“Thorin, nice to see you too, this is Ostanna Lavellan, a friend of mine. She’s one of the best thieves around and I suggested Gandalf ask her to come along since you needed a burglar anyway.” Varric replied smoothly to Thorin and that steely gaze met mine again, the disinterest quite clear on his face and he turned back to inspect Bilbo closely.

 

“Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?” Thorin asked Bilbo while circling him, looking the hobbit over as they spoke and when Bilbo made a joke about his Conkers skills, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him when Thorin and the others laughed at the poor guy.

 

“And what of you, elf, do you know how to fight?”

 

“Ah, good, it’s my turn to be laughed at, is it? Yes, I can fight, Varric wouldn’t have even suggested in bringing me if I couldn’t. I can also pick locks, build traps, disarm traps; I also specialize in a lot of snark and sass as well as witty commentary and I’m pretty proficient at making potions, poultices and poisons too.” I shrugged and showed off my twin silverite and bloodstone daggers to the group and Fili whistled in appreciation, taking one of them to inspect it closer.

 

“You seem confident in your abilities. Have you seen a lot of battle?”

 

“Of course I’ve seen a lot of battle. I was a mercenary for a while. Worked with Iron Bull’s Chargers and saw a lot of shit with them. Even went giant baiting once.”

 

“Very well, you’ll do I suppose.” Thorin grumbled and breezed off into the dining room, the other dwarves following after him.

 

“Is he always this…?” I trailed off and made some odd hand motions at Varric and he nodded with an annoyed sigh.

 

“Yeah, pretty much. He’s almost like Bartrand, only more bearable.” Varric replied with a shrug and I cackled at his remark.

 

“Oh Creators help us then if he’s like Bartrand. Please tell me he’s at least more likable than Bartrand was?” I followed after Varric into the dining room where everyone was gathered around, listening to Thorin speak while he ate.

 

“They will not come. They say this quest is ours, and ours alone.” Thorin was in the middle of speaking about something and I figured it was poor news because everyone’s disappointment was fairly palpable.

 

“Hold on now, Chuckles, don’t forget that I have connections that could give us a hand.” Varric spoke up from his spot next to me.

 

“Varric, don’t start with the nicknames please. And talk to your connections; see what they can do for us.” Thorin groaned when the nicknames came up, giving Varric a pointed look, making the other man snort with laughter.

 

“You’re going on a quest?”

 

I turned my head and saw Bilbo had come closer to see what we were talking about, interest on his face. This continued on for a while and I was quickly becoming bored which was usually a bad thing. It typically led to pranks and other shenanigans that tended to get me in trouble and I didn’t want to end up on anyone’s bad side, but Fen’Harel help me, I was so damn _bored_!

 

“Uh, what beast?”

 

I looked up from the table at Bilbo’s concerned words, curious about what beast they were talking about and why.

 

“Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals –“ 

 

“Yes, I know what a dragon is.”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a moment, did you say dragon? You said dragon. Right? I-I’m not just hearing things? You said dragon. We’re fighting a bloody _dragon_? Where was that in my contract? Did I miss that? Was it written plainly that we were going to take a fucking _dragon_ on?” I babbled and shot Varric a dark look.

 

“I’m not afraid! I’m up for it. I’ll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksy.” Ori had stood up and proclaimed this bravely but his brother yanked him back down into his seat while some of the others yelled at him.

 

“Sit down!”

 

“I’m sorry, Varric, I would have thought you would have remembered the fucking Bone Pit and its dragons! That was a fucking nightmare! And Mr. I-Want-to-be-a-Fucking-Dragon was having a damn ball with it all while you and I nearly got roasted a few times! I still have the scars on my ass from the damn drake biting me!” I shouted at Varric, throwing my hands into the air, exasperated and a little pissed off. Varric was laughing raucously at this point and it certainly did nothing to temper my mood any.

 

“The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest.” Balin added in and the others immediately got offended, yelling at him and protesting quite loudly.

 

“We may be few in number, but we’re fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!” Fili spoke up bravely and Kili nodded in agreement with his brother.

 

“And you forget, we have a wizard, Varric and Ostanna in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time and Varric already told us his stories with his friend Hawke and the dragons they fought.”

 

More arguing ensued as they pestered Gandalf about how many dragons he had killed and I was beginning to get a slight headache, though I could honestly say I was no longer bored thanks to all of the ruckus going on around me.

 

“ _Shazara_! If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes will look east to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor? _Du Bekâr_! _Du Bekâr_!”


	4. So It Begins

I watched as Balin handed the extremely reluctant Hobbit the long contract to sign, going over it with him very briefly while Bilbo looked over the paper very carefully, reading everything closely, looking for fine print like I did when I got mine.

 

“Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Eh, present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations… evisceration… incineration?” Bilbo read part of the contract out loud and Bofur nodded eagerly, a grin sliding onto his face as he stared Bilbo down.

 

“Oh, aye, he’ll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye.” He was matter-of-fact and smug looking when he informed Bilbo of what could happen and he looked a little breathless at the mention of it.

 

“Huh.”

 

“You all right, laddie?” Balin frowned as Bilbo bent over, green with nausea and possibly pain with how he was grimacing and even I felt a little faint just looking at him.

 

“Uh, yeah… Feel a bit faint.”

 

“Think furnace with wings.” Bofur snickered and I kicked him a little, trying to get him to shut up.

 

“Air, I-I-I need air.” Bilbo stammered.

 

“Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You’re more than a pile of ash.”

 

Bilbo stood straight up, breathing hard and trying to compose himself as we all stared at him, some of us worried and the others finding this whole thing rather comical.

 

“Hmm. Nope.” He fainted and Bofur burst out laughing and I proceeded to kick him again, harder this time and giving him a pointed look of ‘really why would you do that’ before getting to my feet to help him up.

 

“Ah, very helpful, Bofur.” Gandalf grumbled and came over to help me get him into a chair and I grabbed a blanket to wrap around his shoulders.

 

“You are a jerk, Bofur.” I muttered to him and he chuckled a little, patting my arm as I walked past him so I could gather my things.

 

“I thought he should just know the dangers of dealing with a dragon.”

 

“Yes, because that was the perfect way to handle it. Great job, seriously, I applaud you. You’re such a wanker.” I snorted and tied my cloak around my neck, making sure it was secured so I wouldn’t lose it.

 

“Are you leaving us?” Thorin asked as I walked past him and I paused a moment, glancing over at the very attractive and very annoying dwarven man.

 

“Yes, for the night anyhow, seeing as I need sleep to function. I mean, I suppose I could always sleep on my nugalope tomorrow since he’s big enough for me to actually lie down on, but hey, why take the risk when I can actually sleep in a real bed that’s comfortable?” I smiled sweetly at him.

 

“Or better yet, I could always stay here and just sleep with Kili or Fili or maybe you, Thorin if you asked me nicely.” I continued breezily, tipping a wink at Fili and Kili. They grinned widely at me and shrugged a little, eager enough to go along with my joke. He gave me a disgusted look and walked away, muttering under his breath about elves and I smiled a little, shaking my head in amusement. He was going to be fun to tease, I just knew it.

 

“Alright all, I’m leaving for the night. Varric, want to walk back with me since we have rooms at the same place?”

 

“Sorry buttercup, I’m finishing up some business here otherwise I would love to.” Varric smiled at me and I gave him a quick hug before leaving. I saw Kili and Fili smirking at Varric after I hugged him and I stuck my tongue out at them when I realized they thought it was fantastic Varric’s face was level with my breasts. I said good night once again before giving Bilbo’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

 

“I do hope you’ll consider coming along, Mr. Baggins. And thank you for the wonderful dinner and drinks and allowing us into your home. I don’t know about the others, but I am grateful.” I murmured to him before walking out the door into the cool, crisp night and strolled along down the dirt road to the inn so I could get a little bit of sleep.

 

~*~*~

 

“Morning sunshine, time to rise and shine.”

 

I groaned when I heard Varric’s voice outside my door and I sat up, my really long blonde hair sticking up all over the place, frizzy and crazy and I slid out of bed, shuffling over to the door and opening it for Varric to come in while I got ready to go.

 

“You look terrible this morning.”

 

“Fuck off Varric.” I growled as I ran my brush through my hair, wincing as the bristles caught in tangles and snags from my restless sleep last night. He quirked an eyebrow up but disregarded my comment otherwise and leaned back against the bed, shaking his head in amusement. Once I was done brushing my hair out, I threw on my some make up and dressed quickly, throwing my extra stuff into my packs and hitching them up on my shoulders before leading the way out to the stables.

 

“Andraste’s tits, Ostanna, what is that thing?” Varric stopped short when he saw Nugget waiting in the largest stall they had available. He was a giant, pink nug with some lovely light black colored stripes along his back that had knuckles instead of normal front feet and he had some pretty impressive horns on him along with a really sweet disposition unless he was angry.

 

“This big boy right here is Nugget. He’s my battle nug! Bull and Tatianna found him for me forever ago and he’s my sweet boy, yes you, yes you are! Who’s my good battle nug, huh? Who’s my precious baby boy?” I cooed while scratching him gently behind his ears. He stamped his feet and snorted happily, gently butting his head against my side while I strapped my packs to him.

 

“I… am actually at a loss for words right now.”

 

“He’s a Gwaren Land-Hammer. Not sure where Bull and Tat found him exactly, didn’t ask, but he’s my baby.” I cooed happily before climbing up and offering a hand tout to Varric. He accepted after a moment of hesitation and held onto my hips tightly as we rode off to meet with the others. When we caught up with them, everyone stared, eyes wide, at Nugget.

 

“What is that thing?” Thorin asked, slowly approaching him and I slid off, helping Varric off so he could get on a pony instead.

 

“This is Nugget. He’s a nugalope, a Gwaren Land-Hammer to be specific and he’s my baby.” I smiled, patting Nugget’s neck and he snorted again, leaning his head on me. I patted him a few more times and scratched under his chin before giving him a carrot and an apple to eat.

 

“Can I… May I…?” Thorin asked and I nodded, allowing him to hold his hand out for Nugget to sniff. He tilted his head a little, looking over Thorin with interest before pushing his large snout into Thorin’s large hand, snuffling gently, looking for more treats.

 

“Wow, he actually likes you. Nugget is usually pretty picky about who come near him and me, but he really likes you.” I whistled, pretty impressed that Nug took to him so quickly. Soon enough though after everyone had their chance to investigate Nugget closely, we were on our way to Erebor and I couldn’t be more thrilled to finally get going.

 

“Wait! Wait!”

 

Everyone pulled their ponies to a stop when we heard a voice from behind us, calling out and Bilbo came scrambling up to us, clutching his contract in one hand and breathing hard from running. A smile crept onto my face as he handed Balin the contract and Thorin told him to get on a pony.

 

“You can ride up here on Nugget with me if you’d like Mr. Baggins.” I called and he turned to look at me, starting badly when Nugget shoved his bulky head into his chest, snuffling and snorting as he nuzzled him.

 

“Wha-? N-no, no thank you Ostanna, I-I can walk.” Bilbo stammered and let out a yelp when Kili and Fili picked him up and dropped him onto a pony.

 

“Come on, Nori, pay up. Go on.” Oin called over to Nori and a moment later, sacks of gold were being tossed about.

 

“What’s that about?” Bilbo asked Gandalf curiously as I caught two more bags.

 

“Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you’d turn up. Most of them bet you wouldn’t.”

 

“Don’t worry, Shortstack, I figured you’d show.” Varric said with a smirk as he caught another bag of gold. We talked animatedly for a while, just enjoying the ride and a rather amusing game of “let’s ask the elf all sorts of questions” made time pass fairly quickly before we had stopped for the night to camp out.


	5. Making Camp

“I’ll make dinner!” I volunteered cheerfully and got to work, pulling out a cutting board and began to chop up some vegetables while directing Varric and Bofur to find a clean water source so they could fill up the pot we had with us. I was absorbed in getting dinner ready, finding the chopping and other food preparations relaxing. I was always a big lover of food and cooking, so when I was with my clan and when I was with the Chargers, I would always do the majority of the cooking, finding it a good way to calm down and relax.

 

“Thank you, you two. Now let’s see… Ah, here it is.” I was digging through my bag and found the dried broth and herb cubes I had brought with me and tossed them into the water when Varric and Bofur returned with fresh water for the pot. Soon enough, we were eating a delicious stew that took maybe half an hour to make and I was leaning back on Nugget, enjoying my meal, when Thorin came and took a seat next to me, handing Nug a carrot absentmindedly.

 

“This was good, I’m… impressed.” He finally spoke after sitting quietly for a few moments and I smiled at him, pleased to hear he liked the food.

 

“Oh, well, I’m glad you liked it. It’s just a little something I learned from the Keeper.” I murmured shyly, acutely aware of how close he was sitting to me and I felt my face heat up all the way to the tips of my ears. I didn’t know what it was exactly about Thorin that got my heart working overtime and my blood going, but I really didn’t want him to stop whatever it was. Not that he’d ever feel the same way because after talking with Varric a little bit, it was pretty clear he hated elves, regardless of who they were, but if he did, Creators knew I would jump his bones in a heartbeat.

 

“Are you alright? You look flushed, Wolf Eyes.” Varric smirked at me when he walked past and I gave him an old Dalish hand gesture that was considered very rude, my face getting even redder.

 

“Shut up, Varric. I-I need to go… somewhere else.” I mumbled, hopped to my feet and darted away to go find cold water to splash on my face.

 

 _Or maybe take a cold bath instead at this point._ I thought crossly, slowing to a walk when I found a small lake and knelt down by the water’s edge, cupping my hands and filling them with water and gently splashed my face with the cold water.

 

“You ran off pretty quickly.”

 

I jumped when I heard Thorin behind me, letting out a shriek when I fell forward into the water, splashing water up everywhere and spluttering when I popped back up, glaring at him as he started laughing at me. My hair was dripping wet and plastered to my face and neck and I cursed silently when I realized my white top was drenched and now, unfortunately, see through, so I couldn’t exactly get out of the water now until Thorin left.

 

“Get Varric please. I need new clothes.” I growled, my face getting red all over again as he walked over and held his hand out.

 

“Let me help you out at least.”

 

“No! Er… I-I mean, no thank you, I-I can just wait for Varric.” I stammered, eyes wide but he kept his hand held out, silently insisting on helping me out of the lake and with a reluctant sigh, I took his hand and pulled myself up to walk out of the water. Thorin cleared his throat and averted his gaze quickly, looking up at the stars when he saw my top was see through now.

 

“I’ll just… go get Varric then.” He muttered and walked away very quickly, his face pink with embarrassment.

 

~*~*~

 

“Nug, stop moving around so much, you’re keeping me awake.” I grumbled sleepily to Nugget as he squirmed about and he snuffled in my ear before finally settling down so we could sleep. He was curled up around me, his bulk keeping me warm if not a little crushed against the ground and acted like he was a tiny little peg nug. I groaned a little and scooted out from under his bulk, grunting at the effort it took before settling down again, resting my head on my folded up cloak. I was almost asleep when Nug flopped over on top of me, snoring and I let out a muffled screech of pain and surprise, wiggling out from under the big lug once again, tugged my cloak out from under him and marched over to where Kili and Fili were sitting by the fire and plopped down next to Fili.

 

“I’m using you as a pillow since Nug has effectively chased me away from my own sleeping spot.” I yawned, settled in close to him and put my head on his shoulder, snuggling close. He chuckled a little and shifted to accommodate my sleeping arrangement before settling back in by the fire once more. There was a loud scream that echoed through the night air, though I really just wanted to ignore it because I was actually comfortable and wanted to sleep.

 

“What was that?”

 

“Orcs.” Kili informed a nervous Bilbo from his spot by the fire, and I made a disgusted noise in response; I had never personally dealt with Orcs before, but Bull gave me a heads up about them before I came here and I was very unimpressed by them. Another scream came again, a little further away this time thankfully, but I was still wary and very casually reached out next to me to make sure my daggers were within grasping range.

 

“Orcs?” Bilbo was definitely worried by the thought of Orcs being nearby.

 

“Throat-cutters. There’ll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them.” Fili explained and I sat up, giving up on sleep entirely, grabbed my daggers and went over to the edge of the ledge to stand watch, all seriousness and joke lacking. If we were in danger, someone needed to be able to see said trouble coming.

 

“They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone’s asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood.” Kili added in and I heard him and Fili start laughing.

 

“You think that’s funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?” Thorin snapped at his nephews and I heard his boots crunching on the ground behind me as he walked this way.

 

“We didn’t mean anything by it.” Kili sounded ashamed of himself and Thorin snorted irritably.

 

“No, you didn’t. You know nothing of the world.” He spat before coming up to stand watch with me.

 

“Do you see anything?” He inquired and I shook my head slowly, still scanning the span of land in spread out in front of us, searching for any signs of movement.

 

“No, nothing.”


	6. Trapped

Morning came and went much more quickly than anticipated and it was already early afternoon much to my surprise. The ride had been quiet and even Varric who was a usual nonstop talker was quiet; it was so odd not hearing anyone talk. I tried to liven things up a little with some jokes but they all fell flat, barely getting smiles out of anyone which was also a first.

 

“Well aren’t we all just a cheerful bunch?” I exclaimed after sliding off of Nugget when we came to a stop to rest for a while.

 

“Do you take everything as a joke?” Thorin snapped, shooting me an irate look as he walked past and I couldn’t help but snort a little bit and roll my eyes at him.

 

“Well I personally am a joke, so yeah.” I retorted back quietly, thinking he couldn’t hear me, but when he stopped and turned to face me, I went white with the realization I’d said that louder than I’d intended to. Everyone was unloading their things so I’d hoped they wouldn’t notice what was going on and I backed up a little bit, my back hitting Nugget’s side as Thorin approached me.

 

“I’m beginning to think we hired a jester instead of a burglar. You think you’re so funny and I should have expected this from one of Varric Tethras’ friends, but you really take the cake.” He snapped, glaring at me angrily.

 

“Do you know why I prefer to goof around and laugh? Because it’s the only way I have to cope with shit. When I said my Keeper sent me here? I was lying! While she did recommend me, she’s no longer my Keeper and I’m no longer in my clan because I kept fucking everything I did up. I took myself _too_ seriously before joining up with Hawke and before meeting Iron Bull and it got me into trouble. And because I couldn’t hold my temper and let things go, I lost my family because Keeper didn’t want to deal with it anymore. So now I’m without a family but hey, at least I can joke around now and deal with it in a better way.” I snapped, my tone biting and hard.

 

“Ostanna…”

 

I looked up and saw everyone staring at us, Varric looking worried and I went even paler before my face went dark red and I backed away past Nugget, embarrassed and angry and hurting from the confession and then having everyone hear everything I said, well it was too much.

 

“I… I can’t stay here…” I stammered and whirled about, taking blindly off into another direction, the tears I’d kept at bay for months ran down my cheeks as I sprinted, my long legs eating up the ground under me. I stumbled over rocks and tripped over a stump, my foot getting hooked in a left over root which sent me falling and rolling down a hill. There was a popping noise as my left arm was pulled out of socket and I cried out in pain, cursing loudly in elvhen as I staggered to my feet and kept running, water splashing up when I sprinted through a shallow river and over some rocks, slipping as some of the rocks fell, revealing a cave which I fell into with a scream.

 

“Ostanna! Ostanna, where are you?”

 

“I’m stuck down here, Thorin! Just… leave me here; I’ll get out on my own!” I shouted and leaned back against the cave wall, sighing a little as I tried to calm down.

 

“Ostanna, take my hand.” Thorin was kneeling by the entrance, holding his hand out for me to take, when he stopped for a moment then cursed loudly, sliding into the cave with me, wrapping his arms around my body and twisted, keeping us as far back away from the entrance as possible as a rockslide covered the entrance to the cave, leaving us in complete darkness. I was breathing hard, almost panting, as my face pressed into Thorin’s chest from him holding on too tight, my stomach filling with butterflies while my heart raced in my chest. Slowly, I looked up as he loosened his grip on me, gasping a little when I realized how close our faces were together and my face burned red all over again.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked and I felt a shiver run through me when his warm breath hit my cheeks as he tilted his head down to make sure I was alright.

 

“Y-yes, I-I’m fine… Um… sort of, anyway, my arm got pulled out of socket as I was falling and I’m probably covered in cuts and bruises.” I whispered and placed my hands on his chest so I could push myself away from his warmth, but he tightened his grip to keep me in place.

 

“Don’t move, not until I’ve checked you over thoroughly.” He scolded gently and ran his fingers over my face tenderly, lightly pressing on my face and checking for any cuts, apologizing when I hissed when his rough fingertips brushed a large cut on the bridge of my nose and again when they hit another few cuts on my neck and shoulders.

 

“Brace yourself on me, I have to pop your arm back into socket and it’ll hurt a lot.” Thorin warned and I nodded, taking a deep breath and preparing myself for it as he held onto my arm and he popped it back into place. Despite bracing myself, a pained scream burst from my lips and I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood.

 

“Easy, easy, you’re alright.” He murmured, cupping my face in his hands and I had no problem seeing those eyes that made me weak in the knees staring at me.

 

“You’re bleeding.”

 

“Ah… I bit my lip. It’s really not a big deal.” My voice was so soft, even I had a hard time hearing what I said and I licked my lips quickly, trying to rid myself of the blood that was staining them. His closeness made me feel weak and dizzy, my head was spinning and his scent was so intoxicating, it was leaving me feeling almost drunk off of it. If I didn’t get away from him soon, I would end up doing something I would regret.

 

“Thorin, you can let go of me now.” I chose to whisper and backed away from him, going as far back as possible and sliding down the back of the cave, my back resting against the cold stone and tipped my head back, closing my eyes so I could try to focus on recovering enough to get us out of here.

 

“Ostanna, I… apologize for my harsh reaction earlier.”

 

“No, you don’t need to apologize…” I murmured and looked up as he moved closer so he sat next to me. My heart raced as I leaned in and shyly pressed my lips to his, a little worried when he didn’t respond right away and was about to pull back when he tangled his fingers in my hair and held me to his mouth, returning the kiss hard and hungrily before pulling away what felt like a split second later and he moved away quickly, working on trying to work the rocks covering the entrance, leaving me sitting there, lips tingling and confused.


	7. Trolls

[Thorin’s POV]

I worked on moving the rocks out of the way so we could escape and my head was reeling. I _hated_ elves, so why was I kissing one? She was pretty in her own way, but she wasn’t the kind of woman I tended to go for. A soft groan escaped my lips as I shifted and shoved a few more rocks out of the way when a hand appeared in the small hole I’d made.

 

“I’m really hoping that’s you in there Chuckles. Is She-Wolf with you?” Varric called and I was actually thrilled to hear his voice for once.

 

“Yes, we’re down here! If you have any spare materials, pass it through. Ostanna’s arm got pulled out of socket and I had to pop it back into place, but she needs to get it in a sling so she can heal.”

 

“Right, hold on Chuckles.” Varric called back and disappeared. Ostanna whimpered from the back of the cave and when I glanced behind me, I saw her cradling her hurt arm, her face twisted into a grimace of pain as she got up to her knees, the movement alone just jostling her arm enough to really hurt her. I slid over to her and pulled her into my lap, cradling her as she fought back tears of pain and stretched my arm out when I saw Varric handing me some cloth. I bound her arm quickly; making sure the sling was good enough to keep her arm from hurting too terribly, and gently set her aside so I could help finish clearing the rockslide out of our way.

 

“Here, easy with her, she’s in a lot of pain.” I said as I handed her up to Varric before climbing out myself with the help of Dwalin.

 

“Let me see your arm lass.” He said, turning towards her and taking the sling off before tearing the sleeve of her blouse off so he could inspect her arm, wincing when I saw how purple and mottled it looked compared to the rest of her soft, cream colored skin.

 

 _Stop it. She’s an elf and she is not your type. Leave her alone and treat her as a business partner because that is all she is._ I scolded myself silently before striding away to get some sleep.

 

~*~*~

 

[Ostanna’s POV]

 

“Ostanna?”

 

I looked up and saw Varric coming up to me with a bowl of food and I took it gratefully from him, mumbling a thank you before clumsily getting situated with the bowl so I could eat.

 

“Why didn’t you write to me about your Keeper making you leave? You could have stayed with me.”

 

“Yes, because that wouldn’t be odd Varric.” I sighed softly and made a face at my injured arm.

 

“Oh come on sweetheart, just because we had casual sex a few times doesn’t mean it would have happened if you had stayed with me.” Varric chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows at me playfully, making me smile and shake my head at him.

 

“Oh please Varric, it absolutely would have. We have great chemistry in the bedroom.” I replied with a soft laugh and he laughed too while helping me adjust my sling so I could get a little more comfortable. I didn’t want to think about sex with anyone but Thorin now, though and it made my heart ache when I thought of him kissing me the way he did then pull away so suddenly.

 

“Something happened while you two were stuck down there, didn’t it?” Varric asked and after a moment’s hesitation, I nodded that yes, something happened.

 

“We kissed. It… I don’t know Varric. He was tender and gentle but when we kissed… he returned it but pulled away quickly and I just feel… confused.”

 

“He hates elves. Really hates them, so my guess? He panicked when he remembered you were an elven woman and he’s got a lot to figure out, too.” Varric shrugged and gave my intact shoulder a gentle squeeze.

 

“I should go check on the ponies and Nugget. I’ll be back Varric.” I said, got to my feet as carefully as possible and cut around camp so I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. When I made it over to where Kili and Fili were supposed to be watching the ponies, I saw them talking to Bilbo, looking a little worried.

 

“What’s going on?” I asked, coming up to join them.

 

“We’re supposed to be looking out for the ponies.”

 

“Only we’ve encountered a slight problem.”

 

“We had sixteen.”

 

“Now there’s fourteen.”

 

We looked out, looking to see which ponies were here and as selfish as it was, I was glad to see Nugget still here.

 

“Daisy and Bungo are missing.” Kili huffed, biting his lip and glancing over at Fili, his brow furrowed, the worry plain as day on his face.

 

“Well, that’s not good. That is not good at all. Shouldn’t we tell Thorin?” Bilbo asked as we began to walk, looking for any signs of what could have happened to the ponies.

 

“Uhh, no. Let’s not worry him. As our official burglars, we thought you two might like to look into it.” Fili replied, pausing by a large tree that had been uprooted and flipped over.

 

“Sure, alright, I’ll just go check it out with a busted arm. Nothing could possibly go wrong there.” I muttered darkly and went ahead of the others, spotting a light much sooner they did and by the time Fili pointed it out, I was already close enough to see two trolls hanging about a fire.

 

 _Well shit, that explains so much._ I thought, making a face and pressed myself up against a tree as best as I could when another troll walked by, carrying two more of our ponies under his arms.

 

“He’s got Myrtle and Minty! I think they’re going to eat them, we have to do something.” Bilbo hissed and I jumped over the log that was in the way and silently crept down towards the fire, ignoring the fact that I’d left Bilbo behind and tuning out Fili and Kili whisper yelling for me to come back because I was injured. I quietly snuck around the trolls and made it over to the ponies without being seen, whispering to them in elvhen to calm them down. Carefully, I reached into the front of my blouse and removed a dagger that I kept sheathed and wrapped because of how wickedly sharp it was and I fumbled with it, trying to unwrap it with one hand and growling softly when I had a difficult time of it.

 

 _Damn this sling! It’s not helping at all!_ I pulled it off and fought back a yelp of pain as I moved my injured arm, able to get the blade out much more quickly now and I carefully but quickly sawed through the ropes holding the door in front of the ponies, setting them free.


	8. Hawke

“Shit!”

 

The trolls spotted me as I was sneaking away and they came after me, yelling and grabbing at me, but I stayed out of their grip pretty well with an injured arm for the most part. As I rolled out of the way of one hand, another large one came swooping out of nowhere and grabbed me up into a tight grip. I cried out in pain, struggling against his tight grip and spat at one of them when they pulled me closer to inspect me.

 

“It’s an elf, isn’t it?”

 

“Ain’t seen an elf like this before with the marks on her face.”

 

“Are there anymore of you little elves ‘iding where you shouldn’t?” One of them asked, looking about to see if anymore elves were about.

 

“Nope, it’s just me and my ponies, all alone. Going to a fair to trade some of them off and I can’t say I’m overly thrilled with you trying to eat them. Didn’t your mother teach you it’s not nice to steal your meals?” I asked with a scowl on my face.

 

“She’s lying.” One of them glared angrily at me and I stuck my tongue out at him, which admittedly was childish but I was a little tied up at the moment and couldn’t really do anything else.

 

“No I’m not!” I snapped irritably then kicked myself mentally when I realized I was arguing with a half-wit.

 

“Hold her toes over the fire. Make her squeal.” The leader of the three rumbled gleefully. Suddenly, Kili came bursting out of the bushes and sliced the back of one of the troll’s legs, sending him falling to the ground howling in pain.

 

“Kili!” I called out as the troll holding me dropped me and he caught me, but the force of how fast I was falling sent us sprawling to the ground.

 

“Bianca you minx! That was beautiful!”

 

I looked up and saw Varric and the others attacking the trolls and I couldn’t help but grin when I saw Hawke and Carver were with everyone, fighting.

 

“Wolf Eyes, you alright?” Varric shouted, helping me to my feet carefully and I nodded, taking my daggers from him and charging head first into battle despite the pain I was in, and I fought hard, slicing and stabbing at hands and feet, whirling about the battlefield gracefully despite the hurt arm. Hawke beamed at me as I leaped over him, sinking the bloodied blades into the hand of a troll coming towards him and thanked me cheerfully before slinging fire at that same troll, hitting him in the eyes. I turned away from Hawke, figuring he had things under control and went after the troll that was harrying Thorin and a few others when a yet another hand swooped in and grabbed me tightly. I let out a pained scream as one of the trolls gripped my injured arm tightly, nearly passing out from the pain as his grip tightened.

 

“Ostanna!” Kili shouted, stopping when he heard my scream and everyone quit fighting.

 

“No!” Thorin looked angry and worried as I hung there in their grip, closing my eyes and breathing hard through my nose, trying to not pass out or vomit from the intense pain going on. Stars burst behind my closed eyelids and I felt almost light headed and dizzy from the pain, passing out moments later when they wrenched my arm back a little.

 

~*~*~

 

“Wolf Eyes, hey, are you all right? Ostanna, if you can hear me, give me an answer, would ya? You’re scaring me kid.”

 

I moaned softly when I heard Varric talking to me in my ear and turned my head away a little bit, muttering about wanting five more minutes.

 

“She’s fine, just throw her on the back of Nugget and let her sleep it off.” Varric chuckled and I felt someone scoop me up and lift me high up into the air before feeling Nug’s soft skin under me.

 

“When we get the chance, Hawke, you need to look at her arm and fix it. Blondie taught you some healing stuff, right?”

 

I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the bright light of morning, and carefully pulled myself up, using Nuggets horns to get up.

 

“You’re awake! You missed quite a bit of action you know.” Hawke grinned before scrambling up Nugget and enveloping me in a tight hug, his large, warm hand rubbing my back tenderly.

 

“And I’m quite glad of it, I should say. I never want to face trolls again.” I grumbled into his broad chest, enjoying being close to my friend again.

 

“You look good Ostanna. I’ve missed you.” He murmured softly in my ear so only I could hear what he had to say and my face went pink. Hawke and I had formed a relationship almost a year ago, but I had broken things off when I left to return to my clan. He had wanted things to continue and while I still cared about him, I wasn’t interested in a relationship with him at this point.

 

“Thank you, Faolin. You look good too.” I replied quietly and turned so he could look at my arm. He clicked his tongue in a tsk’ing sound when he inspected it, grumbling about the trolls making the bruising worse and he muttered about how he was glad they were stone.

 

“Alright, sit still, I need to work on this and with how damaged your skin is, I have to take my time.” Hawke said and placed his rough fingers on my arm and I felt a warm, tingling sensation traveling up my arm as he worked his healing magic to fix what I fucked up. As he was healing my arm, I felt him press his lips to my bare shoulder softly and I tensed up a little bit as his lips trailed up to the back of my neck. I looked up through my eyelashes to see Thorin staring at us, his lips pressed together in annoyance and he turned away to continue talking to Gandalf. I felt my stomach clench and I prayed to the Creators that he didn’t really think Hawke and I were involved.


	9. On the Run

“Something’s coming!” Thorin called out just moments after Hawke finished healing my arm and Nugget trotted after everyone when they went running off further into the woods, Gandalf calling for everyone to stay together. Hawke held onto my waist as Nugget trotted along at a relaxed pace, and my skin burned where his hands gently moved from my waist to my hips, his fingers kneading and massaging my hips. 

 

“Thieves! Fire! Murder!”

 

I watched as sled that was pulled by rabbits came racing up, stopping just short of us and the strangely dressed man came hopping off, hurrying over to Gandalf with an anxious look on his face.

 

“Radagast! Radagast the Brown. Ah. What on earth are you doing here?” Gandalf asked and the strange man spoke to Gandalf quickly, trying to form coherent thoughts as he spoke before pulling a little stick insect out of his mouth. Everyone looked a little flustered and puzzled over this Radagast’s behavior, but we didn’t get a chance to even react because he and Gandalf walked off a bit to speak privately.

 

“So, Hawke was it? What are you doing here exactly?” Thorin asked, turning his steely glare over to Hawke, sizing him up as he studied my ex-lover.

 

“Varric mentioned you might need help, so Carver and I came to give you a hand in reclaiming your home. Heard you were the one who helped Ostanna when her arm got pulled out of socket. Thanks for watching out for her for me.”

 

I had to fight back a groan as Faolin and Thorin made themselves into fools, staring one another down angrily, only stopping in their mutual dislike of each other when we heard a howl in the distance. Nugget stopped grazing and picked his head up, making some weird noise only nugs make and Bilbo looked concerned at the noise.

 

“Was that a wolf? Are there – are there wolves out there?” He stammered, glancing around the woods, keeping a wary eye out for any wolf that might be prowling nearby.

 

“Wolves? No, that is not a wolf.” Bofur replied, reaching for a weapon slowly just as a giant wolf like creature jumped into the midst of our little group. Nugget reared back and slammed his knuckles into the creature, making it squeal loudly and Thorin struck the killing blow with his sword. Another one came flying at us and Kili shot it down, not killing it, but wounding it and it got up to its feet, snarling viciously for a moment before Dwalin and Carver slammed their weapons into it, killing it.

 

“What _was_ that thing?” I shouted, looking down at the two corpses in front of Nug.

 

“Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind.” Thorin explained quickly.

 

“Oh, good, Orcs. I was truly hoping to not meet one, much less a whole pack.” I snorted dryly, eager to get moving.

 

“Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?” Gandalf demanded of Thorin and while they argued, I glanced behind us when I heard another howl.

 

“I really hate to interrupt your riveting argument, but I don’t suppose you two would like to get moving by any chance? I would feel just awful for the Orcs to attack and us not have any tea or biscuits to offer them before the bloodbath.” I interrupted the two, giving them a pointed look.

 

“We can’t! We have no ponies; they bolted!” Ori cried, dismayed.

 

“I’ll draw them off.” Radagast said firmly.

 

“If you’ll let me, Carver and I will take Nugget and help distract them, too.” Hawke said and I hesitated, biting my lip a little.

 

“She obviously doesn’t want you taking him. Leave him with her.” Thorin growled at Hawke and rested a large hand on my arm. I smiled a little and shook my head, thinking it was sweet of him to stand up for me.

 

“No, it’s alright. Nug is used to him and he’s a lot faster than he looks. Go on ahead Faolin, it’s fine.” I said and he and Carver climbed up onto Nugget and ran off with Radagast.

 

~*~*~

 

“Go on adventure, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Well, they were wrong. Very, very wrong. Giant baiting was more fun than this.” I grumbled as we sprinted across the plains, avoiding the Orc pack as best as possible and I could hear Hawke and Carver shouting obscenities and other insults at the Orcs chasing them.

 

“Maybe save the jokes for later, huh?” Bofur muttered as we sprinted to yet another large rock pile to hide behind.

 

“I’m sorry; I couldn’t hear you over the sound of my external monologue.” I shot back with a grin and nearly ran smack into Thorin due to not paying close enough attention.

 

“Where are you leading us?” Thorin asked Gandalf while holding out a hand to steady me so I wouldn’t fall over. Gandalf didn’t answer and we hid behind another outcropping of rocks, waiting to see what was going to happen. A sniffing sound caught my sharp hearing and I froze in place, nudging Thorin and barely twitching my head back to indicate that something was above us. Thorin turned to look at Kili and nodded at him, giving him the go ahead, so Kili grabbed his bow, nocked it and let an arrow loose, hitting the warg and bringing it down to the ground. I winced as they killed the Orc and its Warg but the fight was loud and I had a sinking suspicion that it attracted the wrong attention.

 

“Move. Run!” Gandalf snapped and we began sprinting once more.

 

 _I’ll be in the best shape of my life after all of this running. My legs are going to look more fabulous than they already do._ I thought crossly, quickly becoming tired of the constant stopping and running we were doing.

 

“Shit!” I yelped, my foot getting caught in a hole and my ankle twisted sharply, sending me sprawling to the ground, the force of my fall knocking the wind out of me.

 

“Ostanna!” Varric bellowed but I waved him on frantically when an Orc riding a Warg came into my line of sight. I scrambled up to my feet as best as possible and half limped, half stumbled as quickly as possible, but they were gaining on me too quickly. As I braced myself for death by sharp teeth and other pointy bits, I felt someone haul me up into the air and I opened my eyes to find myself in Faolin’s lap.

 

“What, did you really think I was going to just let you die?”


	10. To Rivendell

“Faolin! Carver!” I exclaimed, surprised to see them come out of nowhere to rescue me.

 

“You are the clumsiest elf I’ve ever met, you know that?” Carver grinned at me and I returned it and shrugged sheepishly.

 

“Yes, well… Okay, I actually don’t have anything witty to retort with because unfortunately that statement is much too spot on.”

 

Nugget snorted and galloped across the plains, his stride eating up the ground and we easily caught up to the others as we ran from the Orcs that were now surrounding us on all sides. Faolin was throwing ice and fire left and right, cutting Orcs down while keeping me steady in his lap so I wouldn’t fall off.

 

“Damn it! There’s nowhere else for us to go and the Orcs are closing in on all sides.” I growled and while Faolin was distracted, I wriggled out of his grip and slid down Nugget, yanking my daggers out of their sheaths and despite a twisted ankle, got out there and fought hard, killing wargs and Orcs, getting even more injured in the process but it was either fight the good fight or die like a coward and I wasn’t planning on dying like a coward. Not today, not ever.

 

“We’re surrounded!” Fili shouted, keeping close to me so I could lean on him. I was breathing hard, bleeding heavily from various wounds covering my arms, chest, face and stomach, and it looked like there was no end to the Orcs.

 

“Where is Gandalf?” Kili added, shooting another arrow into the throat of a warg, bringing it down.

 

“He has abandoned us!” Dwalin snapped as we all backed up by a large rock, trying to figure out our next move.

 

“Hold your ground!” Thorin commanded, drawing his sword and holding it at the ready. I was swaying on my feet, bleeding heavily, but kept my trembling, sore arms up just in case, and I had to admit I wasn’t feeling very confident in our abilities to fight off the Orcs that were left and stalking towards us.

 

“This way, you fools!” Gandalf popped up from a large crack in the rock and everyone piled in quickly but I refused to go.

 

“Ostanna! Get in here!” Thorin barked but I shook my head, hugging onto Nugget tightly.

 

“No! I won’t leave Nugget to be eaten by these bastards. He’s too big to fit and I won’t abandon him.”

 

“Go! We’ll take care of him.” Faolin said and shoved me forward gently. I looked back at them as Thorin grabbed my hand tightly in his and gently pulled me forward, helping me get down into the cave that was hidden behind the rock and jumped in right behind Kili and I. A moment later, we heard hoof beats and an orc came falling into the cavern, dead due to an arrow sticking out of it. Thorin pulled the arrow out and made a face before tossing it aside.

 

“Elves.” He looked ready to add something else to that statement then decided against it when he glanced over in my direction.

 

_I may as well go back to Faolin because Thorin will never accept me since I’m an elf._

 

~*~*~

 

“Nugget! Faolin, you actually kept him safe!” I grinned when we got further into Rivendell with Lindir and Lord Elrond to guide us. I ran forward and threw my arms around Nugget, snuggling him close, cooing at him in elvhen and stroked his face, giggling as he snuffled his whiskers against my face softly.

 

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Nug.” I gave him an apple and carrot before turning to Carver and Faolin, hugging them tightly and thanking them too. I waited a moment and pulled Lord Elrond aside, asking if there was somewhere I could bathe and clean up a bit, thanking him when he directed me to a private bathing chamber.

 

“Wait, Ostanna, I almost forgot, Isabela sent you some of that soap you really like.” Faolin stopped me and handed me a small bag that was crammed full of these large chunks of soap that smelled like wild cherries. The smell was strong and I loved it a lot, plus the soap made my skin feel so silky soft.

 

“Ah thank you! Or rather, thank Bela for me when you get the chance.” I beamed at him, wincing as the action pulled at the small cuts scattered over my face.

 

“Come on, I’ll walk with you so I can heal you up before you bathe.” Faolin said and escorted me to the bathing chambers while the others went to go eat and talk to Elrond about the map Gandalf gave Thorin. I glanced behind me and I saw Thorin staring at us, his expression on his face totally unreadable.


	11. Chapter 11

“Here, let me see your wounds.” Faolin murmured softly, gently cutting away the bits of my blouse that were embedded into my wounds, carefully removing them as best as he could, but I still hissed in pain as his fingers worked the material out of the still oozing wounds.

 

“Sorry, sorry. Come on now, remove everything and get in the tub, I have to clean these out with water and elfroot before I can begin to heal them.” He continued and I slowly stripped off my breast band, breeches and smallclothes before carefully getting into the tub, hissing slightly as the hot water enveloped my cold skin. Faolin removed his boots and socks, rolled his pants up as high as they could go and removed his shirt, revealing a tight, toned upper body that had only gotten more sculpted since the last time I’d seen him shirtless. I stifled a gasp, but I knew my pink ears and wide eyes gave away my feelings because he smirked a little and stepped into the tub as well.

 

“Alright, this will burn and sting but I have to do it otherwise it will get infected.” He warned before having me take a seat on the steps that led into the large tub, the water burning the cuts on my arms, sides and stomach and chest. He washed them with his hands, taking his time and working gently to get all of the blood and dirt out before applying the elfroot paste to cleanse each wound.

 

“There, it needs to dry and set for a while and then I can wash it out again and get to work using my magic to completely knit the wounds and seal the skin back together. Let me take a look at your ankle, I need to make sure you didn’t break it.” He lifted my leg up, resting it across his lap and poked about, pressing and pulling, testing it to make sure it was alright.

 

“Just a sprain then. I can fix that no problem.” His hands grew hot then cooled a little as a comforting pale rose glow surrounded my hurt ankle and the throbbing ebbed away until it was completely gone.

 

“Thank you.” I whispered shyly, face red with embarrassment as I pulled my leg back and stuck it back into the water.

 

“I think the elfroot paste is done.” I continued and he tested it, pressing his fingertips to each spot softly and nodded in agreement, instructing me to get back into the water.

 

“There. All healed up. You’ll have scars, but they won’t be too terribly noticeable.” He said, standing in the water behind me, his warmth radiating off of him in waves and I was almost dizzy from all of the heat in the room. His hand rested on my shoulder and carefully turned me towards him before pulling me into him, his lips pressing to mine hungrily.

 

 

“Faolin, wait, please.” I gasped as his lips moved to my collarbone and he paused a moment, glancing up at me with a puzzled look on his face.

 

“I-I’m really not ready for this.” I mumbled and he nodded, the disappointment in his eyes very noticeable but he let go and backed up.

 

“Right, of course, I apologize Ostanna. Here, I’ll let you be so you can finish bathing in peace.” He replied and handed me a bar of my favorite soap before drying off quickly with a towel and pulled his shirt, socks and boots before taking off to go find the others.

 

 

~*~*~

 

[Thorin’s POV]

 

I glared at Varric’s friend Hawke as he and Ostanna made jokes together as they sat with Bofur, Kili and Fili around the fire we’d made so we could make a better dinner than what we got from these elves.

 

“You know, Chuckles, if you keep glaring hard enough, Hawke might just burst into flames. What’s eating you, anyway?”

 

I glanced to the left of me and saw Varric come take a seat with two mugs of ale and handed me one of them before toasting me and taking a long pull of his drink.

 

“Nothing, Tethras, don’t concern yourself with it.”

 

“Oh come on, Chuckles, it’s pretty damn obvious you’ve got an attraction to Wolf Eyes and you’re jealous of Hawke. He’s swooped in and saved her twice now and you can’t stand that. You want to be a hero for her and Hawke is making it pretty damned hard to do.”

 

I stared at Varric’s smug face as he essentially spoke my thoughts out loud, stunned he knew how I really felt about Ostanna. When he saw the look on my face, he laughed loudly and shook his head, amused with the whole situation.

 

“Chuckles, it’s plain as day on your face every single time those two are around each other. Trust me, I know Hawke is still in love with her, but Ostanna has moved on and I know she’s got some feelings for you, Oakenshield. So relax and make your move already if you really want her otherwise Hawke might just win her back over if you don’t act fast enough.” Varric said, got up and clapped a hand to my shoulder before walking over to talk to Ostanna and Hawke, laughing loudly when Bombur broke the bench he was sitting on when Bofur tossed him a sausage. Ostanna was howling with laughter, falling over next to Bofur as she laughed and I smiled at the sound of her laughter.


	12. Leaving Rivendell

“I’m going to go say goodbye to Nug, so will you come get me before we leave?” Ostanna asked, peering at me through her curtain of light blonde hair, her ruby red lips quirked up in a half smile as she stared at me with those beautiful amber eyes and her ample amount of cleavage nearly distracted me when she bent over to fix her boots.

 

“Yes, of course Ostanna.” I nodded after a moment of staring and she gave me a quick peck on the cheek before bouncing off happily. I watched her leave, eyes trained on her full, swaying hips as she bounded away, her long legs eating up the distance between her and the stables.

 

“You’ve got it bad for her, don’t you?”

 

I snapped out of my staring and saw Hawke’s brother Carver watching me with a smirk on his smug looking face.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I blew him off, annoyed that I’d been caught thinking of Ostanna yet again. He laughed and shook his head, the smirk turning into a full blown smile.

 

“Don’t worry; I’m not going to say anything to my brother. He doesn’t deserve her, she’s much too good for him and it looks more like she’s got her eyes on you anyway. Might want to wipe your cheek off by the way.” Carver shrugged and sauntered away to speak to Dwalin and Gloin. I reached up and wiped the back of my hand across the cheek Ostanna had kissed and saw dark red lipstick left behind from the kiss imprint she had left behind.

 

 

~*~*~

 

[Ostanna’s POV]

 

“Good boy Nugget. You’re my sweet boy, aren’t you?” I cooed, sitting in the stall with him, leaning my back on his side and sighed sadly. I would have to leave him here; I didn’t want to risk losing him just in case we ran into any more trouble.

 

“Lord Elrond said he would take good care of you. I’m sorry I can’t bring you any further Nugget. I love you big man and I promise you I’ll come back for you when this is all done and over with. You be a good war nug, you understand me?” I rested my face on his, kissing his soft, velvety nose, giggling as his whiskers tickled my face when he snuffled gently against my tear dampened cheeks.

 

“Ostanna? It’s time to go.”

 

I pecked another kiss on Nugget, gave him some more food and water and waved goodbye, my heart breaking as I left my friend behind so I could walk with Thorin to catch up with the others on our way out of Rivendell. I was sad to be leaving, it was beautiful here and there was still so much more to explore and I wanted to talk to Lord Elrond and find out all about his people and his culture.

 

“Be on your guard; we’re about to step over the edge of the Wild. Balin, you know these paths; lead on.” Thorin said and Balin nodded, moving through the crowd of us to take the lead and I glanced back at Rivendell, Bilbo and I sharing a look of disappointment.

 

“Master Baggins, I suggest you keep up.” Thorin called over his shoulder.

 

“Oh, more nature, just wonderful.” Varric groused with a heavy sigh and I started laughing at his annoyed look as he glanced about us, practically sneering at the nature surrounding us on all sides.

 

“Cheer up Varric, it could always be worse.” I replied with a shrug of my shoulders and the dwarven man shot me a disgruntled look at my words.

 

“Well, it’s true.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for the pep talk Wolf Eyes. Really, I appreciate it.”


	13. The Misty Mountains

“My damn feet are killing me. I really wish I had Nug here.” I groaned after sitting down and getting off of my feet after we’d made camp for the night. We were almost to the Misty Mountains but I was glad for the break. There had been nothing but tension between Hawke and Thorin since we’d left and all Varric did was bitch about nature and how terrible it was, so getting a break would be lovely.

 

“I’m going for a short walk. I need air and away from all the bickering and tension.” I grumbled and walked away from camp, making note of where camp was so I could find my way back without worrying about getting lost. It was cool out, a slight breeze played with my hair and sent shivers running through me, but I continued on in the same direction, just happy to be on my own for a while. I paused after a bit by a large oak tree and sat down in front of it, resting my back against the cool, rough bark and took a deep breath of fresh air. It was so peaceful out here and I looked up to see a full moon shining down on me, which brought a smile to my lips. I’d always loved the moon and would spend hours just gazing up at it and the millions of stars up in the heavens above when I was a child and even now.

 

“Enjoying the night?”

 

I looked down and saw Faolin standing a few feet away, smirking at me. I rose to my feet and he sauntered over, getting close enough to pin me back against the tree and pressing his lips to mine once again in a hungry kiss. I sank into the kiss this time, accepting that Thorin would forever be an unrequited love and that Hawke was here now, eager for me and my body, so I allowed him to kiss me hard and hot, to run his hands through my hair and over my body, but the whole time I pictured Thorin in his place. When Faolin pressed his lips in the hollow of my throat, sucking and biting, it took everything in me to not moan Thorin’s name; I had it bad for him and I had no idea why.

 

 _And why be with someone when you don’t know why you like them? It doesn’t make sense, does it? But oh, how I wish it was Thorin who was leaving marks behind on my skin and touching my skin._ I thought deliriously as Faolin began to thrust into me, his teeth locked on my shoulder, biting down hard enough to draw blood and I cried out, muffling the sound in his neck as I held onto him, clinging desperately as he took me, thrusting harder and harder, grunting and snarling into my tender flesh. I quivered under Faolin, gasping as my orgasm hit me hard and my eyes rolled back into my head, my body arching up into his and I collapsed, limp as a wet noodle. When Faolin came, he pulled out quickly and I rolled back away from him gracefully, dressed quickly and hurried back to camp, shame burning in the back of my throat and in the pit of my stomach as I ran. When I got back, I saw Bofur was the only one awake and he smiled a little at me and waved me over.

 

“Here, I managed to save you some dinner. Hey, are you alright? You’re bleeding.”

 

“What? Oh… yes, I’m… fine. Thank you Bofur, I really appreciate you saving me something to eat.” I replied and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before digging into dinner hungrily, not even caring that it was stone cold, and after thanking Bofur once more, I went over and slid into my bedroll, laying on my side all bundled up and fighting confused feelings and tears back before falling into a fitful sleep.

 

 

~*~*~

 

Fierce storms raged around us as we walked through the Misty Mountains, making it hard to see, but we continued on anyway, albeit a little more carefully than any other time.

 

“Hold on!” Thorin shouted and had to reach out to steady me when I nearly lost my footing when I tripped over some rocks on the path we were following. I growled softly and yanked my boots and socks off quickly and shoved them into a pack, continuing along barefoot like I was used to doing, falling back next to Kili so I could avoid both Thorin and Faolin.

 

“Watch out!” Dwalin roared and we looked up to see a giant boulder go flying over us and hitting the side of the mountain above us, sending rocks falling down around us. We all pressed as close to the side of the mountain as possible, trying to avoid getting hit by falling rocks, and I closed my eyes tightly, really anxious about all of this.

 

“This is no thunderstorm; it’s a thunder battle! Look!” Balin shouted and a giant reared up from behind a nearby mountain, ripping a hunk off of the top the mountain it had been hidden behind.

 

“Well bless me, the legends are true. Giants; Stone Giants!” Bofur hollered, leaning out a bit to look up at the giant and Thorin grabbed him by the back of the coat and yanked him back to safety, yelling at him angrily. The first stone giant launched its weapon at another stone giant that appeared behind us and when it got hit in the head, the ground began to vibrate and fall apart under our feet. My stomach dropped as the ground split between us and I clung to Kili for dear life, nearly panicking and my chest tightened up again, making it hard to breathe right. As I struggled to breathe, standing there drenched to the bone by the rain that continued to pour down, a third stone giant appeared and pummeled the second one, which fell and I braced myself as it fell, fully expecting to be crushed into a paste.

 

“No! No! Kili! Ostanna!” I heard Thorin scream and I looked up to see the others looking down at us.

 

“We’re all right! We’re alive!”

 

I gasped, my vision going dark around the edges and I swooned from the lack of oxygen and tumbled over the edge, rolling and hit a few handholds on the way down before landing on a small outcropping. I was close to passing out and while I struggled to breathe and to get up, I could hear someone coming down to my aid.

 

_This damsel in distress crap needs to stop. Seriously, it is taking a toll on me._

 

“Hold on Ostanna, I’ve got you.” Thorin’s voice was by my ear and I allowed him to grab me around the waist and carefully climb back up so Carver and Hawke could grab hold of me and hauled me back up. Dwalin grabbed Thorin’s hand and helped him up, both of them looking concerned when they glanced my direction.

 

_What in Creators name is going on with me?_


	14. Goblins

We had thankfully found a cave for shelter and I settled myself in the back away from everyone, really just needing a little time to myself to think and deal with everything going on. I hadn’t spoken a word to Faolin since we had had sex and I knew he wanted to talk about it by the way he kept glancing over at me, concern on his face, but I ignored him, focusing on wringing my hair out and trying to stay warm despite being soaked to the bone.

 

“Here.”

 

I looked up as Thorin wrapped his coat around my shoulders and grabbed a couple of blankets that were dry out of my pack and his before pulling me into his lap and wrapping us up tightly. The warmth of his body plus the combined warmth and comfort of his coat and the blankets had me feeling a little better and I sighed softly, snuggling close to him, too awake to sleep, but I was really enjoying Thorin holding me.

 

 

“Get some sleep, Ostanna, you need it.” He murmured in my ear, his warm breath sending chills down my spine. I agreed quietly and pretended to sleep, waiting for him to fall asleep before carefully wriggling out of his grip and still wrapped in his coat, I went and sat with Bofur to help keep watch.

 

“Can’t sleep?” Bofur asked as I sat down next to him and I shook my head.

 

“No, I’m too wide awake after almost falling. Figured I’d come stand watch with you because I can at least be helpful there.” I shrugged and Bofur smiled kindly at me.

 

“Alright, but you’ll have to suffer through terrible puns and awful jokes now.”

 

“I am perfectly content with that. In fact, I’ve got one for you. Knock, knock.”

 

“Who’s there?”

 

“Ben.”

 

“Ben who?”

 

“Bend over and lick my boots.” I giggled and Bofur snorted with laughter, trying really hard to not laugh too loudly. We sat there, trading jokes, puns and limericks back and forth, laughing at how terrible some of them were. I paused in the middle of a rather crude joke Krem told me when I saw Bilbo trying to slip away with all of his stuff and I nudged Bofur hard with my elbow.

 

“Where do you think you’re going?” He whispered as we hurried over to stop him from leaving.

 

“Back to Rivendell.” Bilbo replied, looking frustrated and worn down.

 

“No, no, you can’t turn back now. You’re part of the Company. You’re one of us.” Bofur protested and I agreed with him.

 

“I’m not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I’m not a Took, I’m a Baggins, I don’t know what I was thinking. I should never have run out my door.”

 

“Bilbo, you’re homesick, I understand. Believe me, I really understand and so do Bofur and the others. Please stay, we need you.”

 

“No, you don’t, you don’t understand! None of you do – you’re dwarves and a Dalish elf. You’re used to – to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere.”

 

I jerked back, my eyes wide at Bilbo’s hurtful words and I saw the offended look on Bofur’s face that most likely mirrored the look on mine. I hadn’t been home in a long time and while it was true my clan moved around a lot, I still belong with them and hearing those hurtful words really stung.

 

“I am sorry, I didn’t…”

 

“No, you’re right. We don’t belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do.” Bofur replied sincerely, a saddened smile on his face as he said goodbye to Bilbo.

 

“Right… Good luck Bilbo.” I sighed softly and as he turned to leave, I grabbed his shoulder gently when I spotted a blue glow coming from his things.

 

“What’s that?”

 

He unsheathed the sword, revealing a bright blue glow to it and I heard the mechanical whirring of machines turning on and cracks in the floor began to appear under us. I cursed loudly, shouting for everyone to wake up. Before anyone else could really react to my warnings, the floor dropped out from under us and we slid down a chute, sliding through a tunnel and we were all screaming as we slid through the dark, landing in a large wooden cage that had been set up and I let out a pained wheeze when Oin and Thorin landed right on top of me, followed by Hawke, Varric and Carver.

 

“Get off of me!” I groaned as everyone struggled to get up and on their feet. Goblins came rushing up to the cage, attacking us and taking away our weapons before dragging us away to Fen’Harel knew where. We were led through a vast network of tunnels and wooden bridges to what I assumed was the throne room and I realized Bilbo wasn’t with us.

 

 _Lucky little bastard must have gotten away from the goblins._ I thought with a sigh and nearly slapped a goblin for jamming its sword a little too close to my arse. Loud banging was echoing through the air and it sounded vaguely like music, but it was abrasive and too loud to really truly be called music. As we got closer to the throne where a giant goblin, both in height and weight, was sitting he snarled and made a few other unpleasant noises that made my skin crawl.

 

“I feel a song coming on.” He grunted and began singing.

 

“ _Clap, snap, the black crack. Grip, grab, pinch and nab. Batter and beat, make ‘em stammer and squeak! Pound, pound, far underground, down, down, down in Goblin Town! With a swish and a smack and a whip and a crack, everybody talks when they’re on my rack. Pound, pound, far underground, down, down, down to Goblin Town. Hammer and tongs, get out your knockers and gongs. You won’t last long on the end of my prongs. Clash, crash, crush and smash. Bang, break, shiver and shake. You can yammer and yelp, but there ain’t no help. Pound, pound, far underground, down, down, down in Goblin Town._ ” 

 

I traded looks with Varric and he shook his head, amused as fuck with the sight of the Goblin King dancing about like a professional dancer. Once his little song was over, he lumbered back to his throne, stepping on goblins that threw themselves in his path to make a sort of stepping stool so he could sit in his large throne once more.


	15. Gandalf

“Catchy isn’t it? It’s one of my own compositions.” He rumbled with an unsettling smile.

 

“That’s not a song. It’s an abomination!” Balin shouted from his place in the back of the group and while the rest of us shouted our agreements, the goblins shrieked and yammered at us angrily.

 

“Abominations, mutations, deviations, that’s all you’re going to find down here. Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?” The Goblin King asked angrily, his beady eyes glaring down at us.

 

“Dwarves, an elf and two humans, Your Malevolence.” The lead goblin replied to his king, nodding sagely.

 

“Dwarves? An elf _and_ two humans?” He seemed surprised by the odd group, though I could hardly blame him because it was a strange mix to be traveling together.

 

“We found them on the front porch.”

 

“The front porch?” I mouthed to Varric, who shrugged in return, a bemused look on his face.

 

“Well, don’t just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice!”

 

“Touch me, goblin, and I’ll break your neck with my bare hands.” I bared my teeth in a snarl as two goblins reached for me. One of them hesitated but the other was stupid enough to continue trying and I grabbed him quickly, twisting and dropping his corpse to the ground, giving the others a challenging look. They backed off and I removed all of my weapons and tossing them with the others, refusing to let these disgusting freaks touch me.

 

“What are you doing in these parts? Speak!” The Goblin King demanded coolly, glaring at all of us and Bofur shoved Varric forward, whispering for him to work his magic.

 

“You see my elvhen friend here? We’re trying to find her family. See, she was cast out from her clan but she’s been working on trying to find her way back so she can try to return and I helped her hire a band of mercenaries to keep her safe as we traveled. We lost our map and ended up getting turned around and lost, so really, we’re here on pure accident.” Varric fibbed but the goblins didn’t seem all too convinced.

 

“Silence! If you will not talk, we’ll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the youngest.” He bellowed, pointing his gnarled finger at Ori and Thorin pushed his way to the front of the group.

 

“Wait.”

 

“Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror; King under the Mountain.” The Great Goblin bowed in an exaggerated way, laughing nastily at him.

 

“Oh, but I’m forgetting, you don’t have a mountain. And you’re not a king. Which makes you nobody, really. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg.”

 

Thorin looked up in surprise at the goblin’s mocking words, narrowing his eyes in anger and suspicion.

 

“Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago.”

 

“So you think his defiling days are done do you? Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prize.” The goblin laughed as he spoke first to Thorin and then to a smaller goblin that was sitting in a basket with a slate. It wrote down the message quickly and with a nasty little cackle, he pulled a lever that sent his basket sliding down a system of ropes and pulleys into the darkness. I reached out and grabbed Thorin’s hand, squeezing tightly before pulling my hand away. Dozens of goblins brought out instruments of torture while their ruler danced and sang some more, eager to see some bloodshed.

 

“ _Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung! You’ll be beaten and battered; from racks you’ll be hung. You will lie down here and never be found, down in the deep of Goblin-town._ ” 

 

One of the goblins was inspecting our weapons we brought with us and it picked up Thorin’s sword and slid it out of the sheath a few inches, and I assumed he recognized the sword because he gasped in horror and tossed it down. It landed in view of all the goblins and the howled in fear and rage, backing away from the sword as fast as they could and the king ran to his throne, trampling some goblins on his way and he pointed at the sword, terrified.

 

“I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks.” He howled in fear.

 

“Wow, who knew one sword could offend one race so fast?” I quipped and shrugged at the dirty look Thorin gave me. A whip cracked my back and I yelped in both pain and surprise as the goblins began to whip us and bite us as well as slashing at us with their nasty claws.

 

“Okay, you know what? I’m done with this.” I growled and grabbed one of the ropes they were using and popped one of them with it, knocking it away me.

 

“Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!”

 

Goblins grabbed hold of Thorin and held him down while another pulls out a rusted knife and prepared to behead him. I let out a scream and threw the goblins that were on me away and threw myself on him, snarling viciously at the goblins.

 

“You will have to kill me to get him.” I spat before head butting the goblin with a knife and donkey kicking the other two holding onto Thorin and helped him to his feet. Goblins screeched at me and I hissed back at them, motioning for them to come at me. They rushed me and I grabbed one by the arm and whirled it around, letting it slam into the other one and the fell off the side of the wooden bridges, screaming and squealing as they fell. Then, a massive explosion of bright light filled the entire cavern and the sound went muted from the shockwave rips through the area, flinging goblins left and right and destroying the torture machines and I felt the shockwave knock me to the ground as well as everyone else in the company. When the force of the explosion passed, most of the lights were snuffed out and Gandalf came walking up, holding his staff and sword, and light slowly returned to the area as everyone slowly looked up, recovering from the shock, staring at Gandalf with wide eyes.

 

“Take up arms! Fight. Fight!”


	16. Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

“You thought you could escape me?” The Great Goblin had broken through a bridge in front of us and he pulled himself up, glaring at us as we skidded to a halt in front of him. He swung his mace twice at Gandalf, sending the wizard stumbling back and almost fall.

 

“What are you going to do now, wizard?” The goblin cackled and Gandalf leaped forward, hitting the goblin in the eye with his staff. The goblin dropped his mace and clutched his face in pain, hopping around and screaming ow at the top of his lungs just as Gandalf stepped forward and sliced the goblin in his large gut, making him fall to his knees, clutching his belly.

 

“That’ll do it.” The goblin said before Gandalf sliced his neck open, killing him. His weight caused the bridge we were on to start shaking and the section of the bridge we were on broke away from the rest of the bridge and slid down the side of the cavern. The bridge was sliding at a terrifying speed, demolishing everything in its path and we all clung on, screaming in terror. Varric and I were holding onto each other, screaming at the top of our lungs and I could hear Hawke shrieking about how he was never going on an adventure ever again that involves dwarves and that he was sorry to Varric and he still loved him despite this. The bridge finally slowed down, landing at the base of the cavern, breaking apart and burying us in debris. Gandalf pulled himself out, brushed off and turned to inspect us all to make sure everyone was here.

 

“Well, that could have been worse.” Bofur said and I slammed a hand over his mouth, yelling at him for saying those cursed words just as the Great Goblin’s corpse landed on top of us, crushing us further.

 

“You’ve got to be joking!” Dwalin moaned loudly. I wiggled my hips, trying to pull myself out of the rubble, when I realized I had accidentally hit my hips against Thorin and I apologized quickly, my face dark red and I managed to squeeze myself out from where I’d been stuck before turning to pull him and Varric out.

 

“Hey, She-Wolf, your arm looks… well, broken.” Varric’s eyes were wide as he pointed to my right arm. I looked at it and let out a panicked squeal when I saw how bent and mangled it looked. I had so much adrenaline coursing through my veins, I hadn’t noticed that in the wreckage, my arm had snapped, but now I was feeling it and it hurt like a bitch.

 

“Gandalf!” Kili shouted and we saw thousands of very angry goblins come rushing towards us down the side of the cavern.

 

“There’s too many! We can’t find them.” Dwalin snapped as he tied my arm up in a makeshift sling, apologizing when my arm got bumped on accident, making me cry out in pain.

 

“Only one thing will save us: daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!” Gandalf instructed and once everyone was out of the rubble, we began to run again, bursting out of a hole in the mountain, and I was never so happy to see daylight than in that moment. I tipped my head up and enjoyed the sunlight’s warmth on my face.

 

“Ostanna, I need to set your arm and heal it. Thorin, I’ll need you, Carver, Bofur, Dwalin and Varric to come hold her down because what I’m about to do is going to hurt and I don’t need her moving and messing me up. I apologize Gandalf for interrupting, but if I don’t heal her arm now, it won’t heal properly and that’s not good.” Hawke was completely serious for once, and he took my sling off, tore the sleeve of my blouse off and nodded to my friends. They grabbed hold of me, holding on tightly, and Hawke broke the arm again so he could set it properly. I let out an ear shattering scream, straining against my friends grips, tears coming to my eyes as fire burned through my arm and up into my shoulder, making me feel nauseous and my vision blurring as stars burst across my line of sight.

 

“Alright, the worst part is over. Great job, Ostanna, now comes the easy part.” Hawke murmured softly, the fire in my arm quickly becoming replaced with a comforting, cooling feeling as his magic knit the bones back together and repair any other damages that might have occurred.

 

“Where’s Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit? Where is our Hobbit?!” Gandalf asked, the worry evident in his voice and I looked around, realizing he still wasn’t with us.

 

“Curse the Halfling! Now he’s lost?!” Dwalin snapped, looking about as well.

 

“I thought he was with Dori.” Gloin said and a new burst of arguments broke out between everyone, and I was getting so sick of the fighting.

 

“I’ll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He’s thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since he first stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone.” Thorin was exasperated and angry but I had a sneaking feeling the Bilbo wasn’t gone and that we absolutely would see him again.

 

“No, he isn’t.” Bilbo stepped out from behind a tree and I cheered loudly from my spot on the ground where I’d sprawled out after Hawke had finished healing my arm up.

 

“I knew you hadn’t just run off! Good to see you, Bilbo!” I yelled and he smiled at me shyly, before he and everyone else began talking all at once. Suddenly, howling caught my ears and I jumped to my feet, taking off running past everyone, yelling for them to get moving because wargs were coming and I was seriously over all of this.

 

“Gandalf, when this is all said and done, I am _never_ getting involved with any of your adventures again! And Varric, if you _ever_ mention my name for something like this again, and I find out, I’ll kill you.” I bellowed over my shoulder as we sprinted down hill, the wargs right on our heels just about.

 

“Fuck!”

 

“Watch out!”

 

The lead Warg leaped over Bilbo, snapping its jaws at him and missing as Bilbo ducked behind a rock and it charged him, growling at him. Bilbo pulled his sword out held it out in front of him, bracing himself as the warg impaled itself on the blade and fell to the ground, dead. A few more wargs caught up to us, but the dwarves dispatched them quickly thankfully.

 

“Well, this is just a party now, isn’t it? Should we invite the Orcs for cake and alcohol and we can all get drunk together and have a grand old time?” I asked while helping Bilbo pull his sword out of the warg he killed before we kept running to an outcropping that had no way off of it other than a very long fall off of the mountain; we were trapped between a rock and a hard place.


	17. Azog

“Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb!” Gandalf shouted and everyone made it up to the trees, though I waited a few moments to kill a couple of the wargs that had chased us all the way down here.

 

“Fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you too.” I snapped at each warg when I cut their throats before shimmying up a tree, sitting next to Thorin and giving him a slight grin as I perched lightly on the branch next to him, looking down at the wargs that were circling the trees, snarling up at us. We watched as they stopped and turned as the white warg with a pale orc on its back came prowling up slowly, and I watched Thorin’s face go white from shock.

 

“Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast? Ganzilig-i unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Train-ob.” Azog spoke up in a language that sent chills down my spine. I thought darkspawn were bad, but this was a whole other level of creepiness and horror. Thorin looked stricken and pained, though I didn’t quite understand why but I reached out to him and took his hand in mine, squeezing tightly.

 

“It cannot be.” Thorin whispered, horrified at the sight of Azog.

 

“Kod, Toragid biriz. Worori-da!” Azog spoke to the others with him and the wargs began to try to climb the trees. They jumped as high as they could, scrabbling at the trunks and breaking apart branches in their jaws in their efforts to try to reach us. The trees began to shake violently at the assault and we struggled to hold on.

 

“Sho gad adol!” Azog roared with an evil smile on his face. Thanks to the weight of the wargs trying to climb the trees, the furthest tree from the edge of the cliff got uprooted from the ground and began to lean wildly. I watched on as more wargs jumped on to it and the tree tipped and landed on the tree next to it, the dwarves and Bilbo falling from the tree that fell and into the next tree. In a domino effect, each tree got knocked over until my tree was falling and I screamed as I fell, just barely catching onto a branch.

 

“Nope! Nope, nope, nope! Someone help me, please! I _really_ don’t like heights and I feel rather panicky right now.” I called, my voice higher pitched than normal and I felt an anxiety attack coming on.

 

“Hold on Wolf Eyes!” Bofur yelled and he reached for my hand, grabbing it tightly and I held on as he tried to pull me up. I swung myself back and forth a few times and managed to fling my body up and I straddled the tree trunk before getting up to my knees, then my feet, balancing carefully, watching the scene that was unfolding in front of my eyes in horror. Thorin had stupidly gone to attack Azog and was getting the life beaten out of him.

 

“No!” Balin’s scream was anguished and I raced down the tree trunk, my feet barely touching the wood under me and I took a flying leap off, landing on a nearby warg, wrestling with the beast, punching it in the face a few times and managed to get up on its back, holding onto the scruff of its neck tightly with my hands as it bucked and thrashed, trying to unseat me, but I only scooted forward and wrapped my thighs around its neck, squeezing tightly and turning my body in the right way, snapping its neck effectively. As I rolled and popped up, I saw one of Azog’s warg riders approaching the severely injured dwarf and I ran, tackling the orc around the waist and impaled him on his own sword before standing in front of Thorin’s body, protecting him.

 

“Over my dead body.” I hissed at Azog, lifting my chin defiantly and staring the bastard down, my daggers at the ready. Azog smiled darkly and spoke to some of his lackeys and while I didn’t know what he said exactly, the meaning was pretty damn clear.

 

“Fine, but if you kill me, then you’re going to have some severely pissed of dwarves after you.” I warned him and braced myself as a couple of his wargs and riders approached me, snarling, when Fili, Kili and Dwalin came plowing into them, fighting back angrily and I fought off any that were brave enough to try and come near Thorin, but soon, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin were surrounded and I was at Azog’s mercy.

 

“Hey, Azog, eat my entire ass.” I said before spitting on him. He snarled and wiped the spittle off of his face, but before he could react, a giant eagle had picked me up in its claws and flew out of his range. I waved to him cheerfully, laughing as I held on to the eagle, amazed and a bit terrified at the same time at the experience of flying like this. It dropped me onto the back of another eagle where Fili was sitting and I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding on so I wouldn’t fall off.

 

“Thorin!” Fili shouted and I bit my lip, terrified that he was beyond healing. We landed and I rushed over to Thorin’s side, holding his hand tightly, worrying over him as Gandalf hurried over to see what we could do for him.

 

“Please, wake up Thorin. Wake up, wake up. Please. I love you. It sounds so silly but I do and I don’t want to lose you before we’ve even talked about this. I’ll be rather cross with you if you die.” I whispered to him, tears stinging in my eyes as Gandalf put a hand on his face and whispered a spell. He woke up, gasping and looking around, his eyes settling on me.

 

“You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed!” He rasped, gripping my hand in his and cradled the side of my face with his other hand.

 

“If it’s any consolation, Bilbo helped and so did Fili, Kili and Dwalin. So, not just me; I’m not the only crazy one.” I grinned and his laughed softly, shaking his head.

 

“You always pick the worst time to tell your jokes, fool woman.”

 

“Yes, I know.” I laughed, helping him to his feet and he carefully pushed past to yell at Bilbo and then hugged him tightly. I grinned, relieved to see everyone was getting along finally.


	18. Chapter 18

“Ostanna, might I have a moment?”

 

We had made camp in a secret area Gandalf knew of that would be protected and we could sleep without worry of the Orcs catching up to us.

 

“Of course Thorin, please, sit with me because I’m preparing dinner.” I beamed at him. He obliged my request and sat, reaching over to take one of my knives and began to peel the potatoes and cutting them into chunks for me.

 

“I wanted to speak with you about what you said when the eagles saved us.”

 

My face went red as a beet and I focused on the venison I was cutting up for the stew. I hadn’t thought he had heard me but it looked like I was wrong and I was both pleased and embarrassed about it.

 

“So. You love me, huh?”

 

“I… yes… I suppose there’s no point in hiding it now. I’ve been in love with you since we got trapped in that cave and you saved me. I-I just never thought that anything would come of it because you hate elves and well, hey shocking news, I am an elf.” I mumbled and turned to scrape the hunks of meat into the pot, giving it a quick stir. When I turned back to begin chopping up my herbs, Thorin cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. I was shocked at first, but after a moment, I responded quickly and returned it and when we broke apart, I couldn’t quit smiling.

 

“Oh… Wow… I-I wasn’t… Oh.” I stammered and Thorin gave me an easy going smile before getting up and going to help the others set things up for the night.

 

“You and Thorin, huh? Well, as long as you two are happy I suppose.” Dwalin said, coming up behind me and I jumped high into the air.

 

 

“Oh! Dwalin… you startled me. Yes, well, I doubt whatever Thorin and I are to each other, it most likely won’t last after we get Erebor back. I’m an elvhen nobody and he’s dwarven royalty. He’ll want someone more up to standards for that.” I sighed and Dwalin chuckled a little bit and shook his head in amusement.

 

“Lass, if he cares about you, then you’ll be stuck with him for the rest of your life.”

 

“I hope so Dwalin. I really, really hope so.”

 

 

~*~*~

 

Bilbo and I had been darting ahead, checking the path out for trouble and we had just made it to a rock pile, peeking out from over the top to see Azog and his orc pack running along a ridgeline that wasn’t too far away from us and they would occasionally stop to scent the air, searching for signs of us. When they couldn’t find any trace, they moved on.

 

“Let’s go, Bilbo.” I whispered, about to turn and leave when a snarl made me freeze in place. Bilbo peered around the other side of the rock pile and I peeked over his shoulder, eyes going wide at the sight of a large bear snarling softly while watching Azog. We snuck away quietly and broke out into a sprint when I thought we were at a close enough distance away from where that bear was.

 

“How close is the pack?” Dwalin asked when we got back.

 

“Too close. A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it.” Bilbo replied with a worried frown.

 

“Have the wargs picked up our scent?”

 

“Not yet, but they will; we have another problem.” I added in, biting my lip.

 

“Did they see you? They saw you!” Gandalf exclaimed and I groaned in annoyance; no one was listening to us.

 

“No that’s not it.” Bilbo said and Gandalf started bragging about how quiet we were and everyone was agreeing and smiling and I threw my hands into the air, completely frazzled at this point.

 

“Will you listen you dim-wits?! We’re trying to tell you there is _something_ else out there!” I bit out, trying to stay patient with my friends, but it was hard when they didn’t want to listen. That got their attention though and the worried looks on their faces was actually a relief to see because it showed me they did listen.

 

“What form did it take? Like a bear?” Gandalf was staring at us with a strange look on his face and I was a little surprised he knew.

 

“Yes. But bigger, much bigger.” Bilbo replied in a confused tone of voice.

 

“You knew about this beast?” Bofur asked Gandalf, eyes wide and worried.

 

“I say we double back.” He continued but Thorin shook his head no.

 

“And be run down by a pack of Orcs.”

 

“There is a house, it’s not far from here, where we might take refuge.” Gandalf said slowly, almost hesitantly.

 

“Whose house? Are they friend or foe?”

 

“Neither. He will help us or he will kill us.”


	19. Precious Moments

“Well this is a fine mess we’re in!” I shouted as we sprinted through the woods with a giant black bear on heels as well as Azog and his goons which made this all the more better.

 

“Hey maybe not right now, Wolf Eyes!” Varric yelled back at me and skidded to a halt, nearly crashing into me when everyone else stopped. Azog and his Orc pack stopped too, looking at us when an ear-splitter roar came from nearby.

 

“Gandalf? Do we just stand here or can we run screaming in terror again?” I asked frantically, looking behind us.

 

“This way, quickly!” Gandalf lead the way, everyone panicking and running, Hawke, Carver, Gandalf and I in the lead as we raced through more forest before bursting out into a plain where a house sat surrounded by hedges in the middle of it all.

 

“To the house! Run!”

 

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Hawke added and nearly tripped when Bombur went racing past all of us toward the door and if I weren’t busy fearing for my life, I would have laughed. We hit the door and the dwarves scrambled to open it just as the bear burst from the edge of the forest and I let out a shriek and shoved my way through, throwing the wooden latch up and pushing the door open, falling into the house with the others landing either around me or on me. We scrambled up and fought to close the doors as the bear jammed its head into the house, fighting back but thankfully we pushed it closed and bolted it and I fell back onto the floor, throwing an arm dramatically over my eyes and groaning loudly.

 

“What _is_ that?” Ori asked curiously and I sat up, looking at Gandalf with interest. I’d seen shape shifters before but this was something new to me.

 

“That… is our host.” Gandalf sighed and I did a double take, stood up and tilted my head a little, glancing over at the door.

 

“I’m sorry, I thought you said that was our host? I _was_ hearing things, wasn’t I? Or have I gone completely addled?” I squeaked out, very concerned by what I was hearing.

 

“His name is Beorn, and he is a skin-changer. Sometimes he’s a huge black bear; sometimes he’s a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the bear can be reasoned with. However, he is not over fond of dwarves.” Gandalf warned us tiredly.

 

“Wonderful, we’re being chased by Orcs, had a run in with our host who doesn’t care much for dwarves and we’re only halfway through the journey. I’m staying in Kirkwall next time.” Varric grumbled and sat at the table with Carver and Hawke.

 

“I’m going to find somewhere to sleep. This is all way too much for me plus, I’m beat from all the running. On a plus side, my legs and butt look fabulous.” I snorted and went to look for somewhere to lie down to sleep.

 

 _Perfect! It’s cozy and away from the others so now I can sleep and not hear any snoring._ I thought gleefully when I found a cozy little nook that was perfectly placed. I slipped in and shut the door behind me, laying out my blankets and getting comfortable. As I was unlacing my boots to remove them, Thorin slipped into the nook with me and unceremoniously flopped down next to me, groaning softly.

 

“Yes, you’re more than welcome to come in and flop down all over my blankets.” I teased him and he laughed softly, his sterling eyes glinting with mischief and he had a crooked grin on his face.

 

“Good, because I’m not moving now.” He said matter-of-factly, smirking. I shook my head in amusement, tossed my boots aside and wiggled my toes as I stretched out, arching and twisting my body to stretch everything out.

 

“Are you alright? You look a little pained.” I murmured to him as he rubbed his face with a hand and groaned again.

 

“Yes, I just have a bit of a headache.”

 

“Here, come here.” I patted my legs and he lay back, resting his head on my lap and I gently ran my fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp and temples and sang softly in elvhen absentmindedly to him. I could feel all the tension leave him as he relaxed and I was pleased that he was actually relaxed and less irritable for once this whole journey and continued to massage his scalp gently.

 

“ _Elgara vallas, da’len. Melava seminar. Mala taren aravas. Ara ma’desen melar. Iras ma ghilas, da’len. Ara ma’desen ashir. Dirthara lothlenan’as. Bal emma mala dir. Tel’enfenim, da’len. Irassal ma ghilas. Ma garas mir renan. Ara ma’athlan vhenas, ara ma’athlan vhenas._ ” I sang softly, the elvhen rolling off my tongue as I sang the lullaby I learned as a child to Thorin.

 

“That was… beautiful. What does it mean?” He murmured, opening his eyes and looking up at me. I tucked my hair behind my ears and shifted a little before answering, trying to get a little more comfortable.

 

“It’s an old elvhen lullaby my mother sang to me when I was little. It means, “Sun sets, little one, time to dream. Your mind journeys, but I will hold you here. Where will you go, little one, lost to me in sleep? Seek truth in a forgotten land deep within your heart. Never fear, little one, wherever you shall go. Follow my voice – I will call you home. I will call you home.” It’s one of my favorites and when I was still with my clan, I would sing it to the little ones as they were going down for naps.”

 

“You really miss them, don’t you?”

 

“Very much, yes.” My shoulders drooped sadly as I thought about my clan and I jumped when Thorin sat up and pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

 

“When this is all over, I’ll go back with you if you’d like.”

 

“What really, you would do that?” I looked up at him, surprised at his words. He was changing but for the better it would seem and I was pleased that he offered to return to my clan with me so I could see them again.

 

“For you? Anything.” He replied, cupped my face in his hand and kissed me gently, taking my breath away and leaving me feeling warm and happy.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, I woke to find myself wrapped tightly in Thorin’s arms, my head on his chest and I smiled sleepily, faintly wondering where we were before sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

 

 _Oh, that’s right; we’re at Beorn’s. And not dead it would seem, so maybe he’s alright with us being here._ I thought as I got up and carefully and stepped over Thorin after slipping into a tank top and a pair of sleep shorts and quietly slipped out of the room, nearly running into Beorn on my way to the kitchen.

 

“Oh! I’m sorry!” I gasped, taking a step back to give him some room. He was tall, much taller than the dwarves, than me and possibly Gandalf as well and he was rather intimidating to be quite honest.

 

“Ah, you are the elf that Gandalf mentioned. Istimaethoriel’s charge, if I recall correctly.”

 

“Yes ser, I was part of Keeper Istimaethoriel’s clan.” I replied respectfully, following him to the kitchen, answering his questions about how she was doing and if we were still in the Free Marches.

 

“I don’t know, ser, I haven’t been with my clan in a while.” I apologized to him and he got to work making breakfast.

 

“May I help? Or do something? I hate just standing here feeling like I’m in the way.” I asked him and soon enough, we had a large breakfast set out and the others had finally woken up and shuffled over tiredly, and loading their plates up with food and accepting cups of milk and cups of coffee we had made.

 

“So you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?” Beorn asked as he handed Fili a cup before taking a seat at the table, his gaze never wavering from Thorin’s.

 

“You know of Azog? How?”

 

“My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family but some he enslaved.” Beorn said and I saw the remains of manacles on his wrists and I had to keep from gasping at the sight of it.

 

“Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him.” Beorn continued, gently pushing a large roll into my hands.

 

“There are others like you?” Bilbo asked while taking half of the roll from me when I offered it to him.

 

“Once, there were many.”

 

“And now?”

 

“Now, there is only one.” Beorn growled softly. We sat in silence and I felt my heart break for him. I knew on some levels what it was like to lose your family and friends, but certainly not on the same level as Beorn.

 

“You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?” He continued after a moment and Gandalf nodded, explaining how we had to be there before Durin’s Day and whatnot. As they talked, I found my mind wandering again and I sighed softly as I daydreamed about Thorin and I, only snapping out of it when Thorin nudged my ribs gently with his elbow and giving me a look.

 

 _Oops busted._ I thought with a sheepish grin and turning a light pink from embarrassment. Thorin only shook his head and grinned at me before turning back to the conversation, getting serious again.

 

“These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive.” Beorn had gotten to his feet and the ominous words left Thorin looking shocked and I traded looks with Varric, Hawke and Carver, eyebrows raised in surprise and confusion.

 

“I don’t like dwarves. They’re greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own. But Orcs I hate more. What do you need?”


	21. Spiders

When we approached the forest, my stomach lurched and I felt dizzy, my head swimming, leaving me reeling and shuddering.

 

“This forest feels… sick, as if a disease lies upon it. Is there no other way around?” Bilbo asked Gandalf, steadying me as I almost toppled over.

 

“Not unless we go two hundred miles north, or twice that distance south.” Gandalf replied before going down a path a little ways into the forest.

 

“Ostanna, hey, are you alright?” Hawke asked, helping Bilbo sit me down on the ground.

 

“Something is really wrong with this forest. I’ve never felt anything like this before _ever_ and I’ve been in a lot of forests in my time.” I groaned in pain. Hawke yanked out a handkerchief and wiped my face off, trying to mop up all of the sweat.

 

“Can you stand?” Carver asked, kneeling down next to me with a concerned look on his face. I nodded and with help, they got me to my feet just as Gandalf went running past us to his horse, yelling for Nori to leave his horse be. Everyone else was stunned at his sudden need to leave and I could hear them murmuring amongst themselves in shock.

 

“You’re not leaving us?” Bilbo asked from his place next to me, helping Carver and Hawke support me as I stood on shaky legs. Waves of nausea rolled through me, my stomach clenching and I felt bile rise in the back of my throat as dizziness my head feel like it was spinning. I could feel an odd pressure behind my eyes, making my vision seem a little off and this dizziness much worse, which in turn had me almost retching.

 

“I would not do this unless I had to.” Gandalf replied firmly, worry in his eyes and concern in his voice. Something else was going on to distract the wizard and I vaguely wondered what else was happening.

 

“Come on. We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin’s Day.” Thorin said, coming over and shoved Hawke out of the way so he could wrap an arm around my waist and help me along to the path.

 

~*~*~

 

Things had only gotten worse since we had begun to follow the path only now it was affecting everyone, making them dizzy and feeling almost suffocated by the thickness of the trees and the stale air. We had lost the path and wandering about in circles was only making things worse; everyone was arguing and ill and I was nearly ready to faint.

 

“Yes, we really should listen to what _you_ have to say, Stumpy. You’re probably the reason we’re even lost to begin with!” Carver and Thorin were arguing and Hawke jumped into the argument, shouting about me and getting things even more antagonistic between them. Varric was yelling at Hawke and Thorin, pushing them apart and pushed Hawke and Carver back some more while everyone else kept shoving and yelling at one another.

 

“The sun. We have to find the sun. Up there. We need to -“ Bilbo was trying to talk to us but no one else heard him and I was too ill to try to get the others attention. My knees buckled and I fell to the ground, dirt spraying up around me and I shuddered hard, the wrongness in the air practically choking me. Tears formed in my eyes, but I blinked them away and managed to pull myself to my knees and back up to my feet on my own, swaying like a drunk person and I looked around, something odd catching my sharp hearing.

 

 

“Enough! Quiet! All of you! We’re being watched.” Thorin bellowed and the fighting stopped almost immediately. A loud crashing sound was coming towards us and I drew my blades, holding the daggers tightly in my hands that held a slight tremble to them and braced myself for what was coming.

 

“Giant spiders? Whose cruel joke is this?” I shouted when a whole hoard of spiders came rushing us and I leaped out of the way angrily as one swatted at me with its’ large, hairy leg. Hawke swung his staff about and set two one fire before beating the one that was coming at me from behind and shoved me out of the way of yet another spider. Something sharp stuck me in the back and I let out a startled screech of pain, realizing that when Hawke shoved me, he shoved me into another spider and it struck me with poison. I fell to the ground, paralyzed and in pain, screaming in my own head as it began to wrap me up in silk. This was turning into an awful fucking day and I was really done with all of this, giant spiders just becoming the fucking icing to the cake of this shitty day.


	22. Captured Once More

“Have I mentioned that I hate spiders? Because if not, then let me say it: I _really_ hate spiders.” I growled angrily, rolling out of the way of one of the ugly bastards and sliced up, cursing when blood rained down on me.

 

“Yeah, we know Wolf Eyes! We’re not so fond of them ourselves!” Varric shouted back, praising Bianca loudly when he hit his mark. I rolled my eyes in a good natured way and dove back into the fray, yelping when I got smacked into and sent crashing to the ground. I rolled across the leaf covered ground, leaped back up to my feet and charged the spider in front of me, my legs acting like well-oiled springs as I pushed off the ground and landed on its back, balancing myself as it skittered about, trying to get me off of it. I jammed my blade into the head, holding onto the pommel of my blade tightly as the spider thrashed about before falling over, dead.

 

“Let’s get out of here!” I shouted when it was finally clear and we took off running through the forest, more spiders coming down on silk threads to try and stop us. Thorin and I drew our weapons again, ready to fight, when a blonde elvhen man came sliding down on one of the spiders silken ropes, killing the spiders and with a running start, slid across the forest floor, slicing open the spider in front of us and instantly drew his bow, pointing it at us in warning when he came up to kneel.

 

“Do not think I won’t kill you, dwarf. It would be my pleasure.” He warned Thorin, glaring at him.

 

“Well, this day just keeps getting better and better.” The words were practically dripping with sarcasm and the elf turned his gaze towards me, disbelief on his face when he realized I was an elf, too. I ignored him, glancing about and swearing silently when I saw we were outnumbered by these Mirkwood elves, trashing all ideas of escape.

 

“Help!” Kili shouted and we turned to see him getting dragged off by a spider.

 

“Kili!” Fili looked a little panicked but before he could react, two blonde elves went darting after him, the blonde with tattoos on her face, arms and chest taking a flying leap and landing on the spider that had hold of Kili’s leg while the other elf peppered it with arrows. The spider fell quickly and the two elves whirled in perfect synchronization, killing three other spiders that were coming after them.

 

“Throw me your dagger! Quick!” Kili shouted to the elf with tattoos when yet another spider came rushing him and without even looking, she threw her dagger, a smile touching her pink lips when it hit her target.

 

“If you think I’m giving you a weapon, Child of the Stone, you’re mistaken.” She informed him and took the dagger back from her friend when she handed it to her. I studied the two closely, realizing they had _vallas’lin_ and were from a Clan somewhere in Thedas. Why they were here, I had no idea but I intended to find out.

 

“ _Savhalla_! What clan do you hail from, _lethal’lan_?” I called over to them and they looked at me, surprise in their purple eyes.

 

“ _Savhalla_. We’re from the Alerion Clan. What clan are you of? I don’t quite recognize the accent you possess.” The less tattooed girl responded cautiously and I smiled a little.

 

“I am from the Free Marches and was part of clan Lavellan.” I replied back cheerfully, hoping to get them to lower their guards at least a little bit.

 

“Ah, we’ve done some trading with clan Lavellan! Your Keeper is an odd one.” The less tattooed of the two grinned and I laughed, agreeing whole heartedly with them. I loved my Keeper but she was certainly odd sometimes. The heavily tattooed elf turned to her male friend and spoke to him in an elvish I didn’t understand and I traded looks with Varric, shrugging as the elves spoke to one another.

 

“Beats me, I don’t speak this form of elvhen.” I whispered to him. The girls got grins on their faces and grabbed my wrists, dragging me after them, leaving me a little startled.

 

“Whoa, w-wait, hold on a moment! What about Thorin and the others?” I asked but they waved off my question, assuring me they’d be fine. I relented and began walking of my own accord, hoping they were right and that my friends would be treated well.


	23. Thranduil

“I feel ridiculous. Do I really have to wear this to meet your King?” I had been bathed and dressed in a light pink gown that was cinched tightly, making it slightly difficult to breath and I swore my breasts got even more of a lift and they really didn’t need any more attention called to them.

 

“Well, your armor was pretty beat up and filthy. Until we can get it polished and buffed out, a dress will have to do the trick in the meantime.” Danyla, the heavily tattooed of the two, replied with an apologetic grin. I returned the smile and shrugged a little; a dress wasn’t the end of the world and I _did_ look nice, so I figured it would just be easier to go along with it. I still hadn’t seen Thorin and the others and I was worried that something had happened to them.

 

“Where are my friends? Will they be meeting with the King, too?” I asked as we walked through long corridors and the two exchanged looks, confusion on their faces.

 

“Only Thorin will be meeting with the King. How did these Children of the Stone and two humans catch you, _lethal’lan_? Surely they aren’t _really_ your friends?” Ellana, Danyla’s twin sister, asked curiously as we walked and I laughed at her questions, completely taken off guard.

 

“They never caught me; I agreed to work with them willingly. And I knew Hawke, Carver and Varric before I ever came here to Middle Earth. You really don’t have a high opinion of dwarves, do you?”

 

“Oh, no, that’s not true! Our friend Luna Cadash is here working with Thranduil. She’s a member of the Carta and can get her hands on almost anything, so she supplied him with precious gems.” Danyla gasped, looking horrified that I’d even thought that they hated dwarves.

 

“That’s only one dwarf though. You don’t seem particularly fond of my friends. Why is that?”

 

They looked at each other, biting their lips nervously and stopped in their tracks.

 

“It’s just… We haven’t heard anything good about Thorin and his kith and kin. We just… assumed they kept you around as a slave to run errands and whatnot.”

 

I burst out laughing and shook my head, completely amused with their thought and I was having a hard time answering through my laughter.

 

“No! Creators, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to get myself caught by _dwarves_ of all people. They hired me for a job and we’re business partners and friends. That’s it.” I giggled, wiping my tears away.

 

“We’re sorry, _lethal’lan_. Now, let’s get to the throne room, I’m sure Thorin is there by now.” Danyla sheepishly apologized and when we drew closer to the throne room, we could hear yelling and we broke into a run, throwing the beautiful wooden doors open to see Thorin and Thranduil yelling back and forth about Creator’s knew what. The fighting stopped quickly when they spotted us hurrying over and they stood up straight, eyes wide when they spotted us.

 

“Thorin, what’s going on?” I asked, pushing past Danyla and Ellana so I could stand by him and I stared Thranduil down, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at the elvhen king.

 

 

“Ah, you must Ostanna.” His voice was smooth and I felt my ears heat up when he took my hand gently in his and kissed the back of my hand, his lips soft and lingering on my skin before he pulled back, smirking a little.

 

“Yes, that’s right. Now what are you two yelling about?” I ignored the burning sensation on my ears, my gaze never wavering from Thranduil’s.

 

“You neglected to mention how beautiful your elven servant was, Thorin.”

 

“I am _not_ a servant, my lord.” I snapped, becoming very cross over the constant confusion. He ignored me, keeping his gaze trained on Thorin, that smirk on his face starting to get on my nerves.

 

“Ostanna is right, she is no servant. She’s an equal and someone I care very deeply for.” Thorin added and Thranduil looked a little annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back a bit.

 

“Oh? That isn’t what you said before she and two members of my guard came in.”

 

I looked at Thorin, surprised and a little suspicious, wondering if he truly said something that had given Thranduil the impression that I _was_ here as a servant.

 

“Thorin?”

 

“I swear to you Ostanna, I said nothing of you being a servant. This snake is telling you lies.” Thorin replied but I stepped away from him, frowning and pushing my hair out of my face.

 

“I am telling you the truth my dear. You’re nothing but a simple elven servant to him.” Thranduil purred behind me. Thorin was staring at me with a pleading look on his face but the damage was done. I looked away from him and followed after Danyla and Ellana, shooting Thorin a hurt look as we walked past him. He looked distraught as the guards grabbed his arms and dragged him away and I felt my heart shatter into little pieces.

 

 

~*~*~

 

“My lady Ostanna? The King requires your presence.” One of the attendees that worked for Lord Thranduil came to the chambers I was calling my own temporarily. I rose to my feet and followed after him, wondering just what he wanted from me.

 

“You requested me, my lord?” I asked when we entered his quarters, bowing a little to be polite.

 

“Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable Ostanna.” Thranduil smiled warmly, motioning for me to sit down on the settee while he poured two glasses of wine, handing one to me. I took it with murmured thanks and took a sip, startled by how strong it was. It was a rich flavor, full and surprisingly warm for a wine with undertones of sweetness and spices that I couldn’t quite figure out what they were.

 

“I wished to apologize for what you heard today upon your arrival. I did not wish for you to know Thorin was speaking poorly of you, especially after assuming you two were… intimate.” Thranduil apologized, the sincerity in his voice meeting his eyes as he put a gentle hand on mine and squeezed softly. My heart raced in my chest and I looked away, trying to take a deep breath and relax. Thranduil was good looking and I couldn’t deny that, but part of me still really loved Thorin and didn’t quite buy into the slave bit; it just didn’t set right with me. Something was off I just couldn’t put a finger on it.

 

“No, you don’t need to apologize my lord. It wasn’t your fault.” I mumbled before taking another gulp of wine. I felt tingly and light headed from the wine, but I finished it off before rising to my feet, slightly unsteady and I bowed again.

 

 

“If that’s all, then I’ll take my leave Your Majesty.” I went to walk past him, but he got to his feet quickly and grabbed my hand gently in his.

 

“Wait, please hold on. Tonight we’re having a celebration and I would be honored if you would attend it with me.” He smiled at me and I nodded after a moment, agreeing to attend, at least for a while.

 

_As soon as I can, I need to find Thorin so I can talk to him. Something’s wrong and I have to know what._


	24. Escape from Mirkwood

The music played loudly throughout the grand ball room, setting the perfect mood for dancing, which it seemed like everyone was. They wore grand masks and gowns that were bright and colorful and everyone looked beautiful as they danced across the giant ballroom floor. Thranduil led me to the floor, his hand on my waist while holding my other hand gently in his and he led me in a waltz, twirling and dipping me back expertly.

 

“So tell me, Ostanna, are you involved with anyone?”

 

“Yes… At least, I was. Now I don’t know.”

 

“I see. You and Thorin had something?” Thranduil had been inquiring a lot about Thorin and the others, which was odd, but I was so drunk that I didn’t give it a second thought.

 

“Yes. Nothing sexual mind you, just some stolen kisses and hand holding.” My words were slurred but I was coherent enough to understand what I was saying and my face went red after my admittance to a man I barely knew.

 

“Such a shame really because you’re so lovely my dear. If it were up to me, I would whisk you away up to my quarters now and make love to you. Someone as beautiful as you should be treated like a Queen and loved like one.” Thranduil murmured in my ear, his warm breath sending chills down my spine. I knew my face was burning red and I was thankful for my mask so Thranduil couldn’t see my embarrassment. The music changed tempo, quicker and upbeat, the dancing leaving me breathless and dizzy.

 

“Why are you with these dwarves, love? It must be for something important.” Thranduil asked, leading me off the floor to get more wine.

 

“Yes, they asked me to help them reclaim their home. Though I’m sure you knew that already.” I answered, keeping my voice steady and tried to act sober and collected, but really, I was a quivering mass of lust and nerves.

 

“But that’s not all of it, is it my dear? What else does Thorin want?”

 

“You know that too, my lord. I heard the argument; I know what you’re looking for.” I replied smoothly, lying extremely well and took the wine from him, taking a sip of it. He smiled at me, his eyes cold and lacking the warmth his smile held falsely and held out a hand in my direction.

 

“Would you care to dance some more?”

 

“I can think of other things I’d much rather do.” I purred, giving him a sultry smile and turned away from him, making sure when I walked, my hips held a little more sway to them and I glanced over my shoulder, smirking when I saw Thranduil setting his half full glass down and come hurrying after me.

 

“Shall we depart to my chambers for the rest of the night?” He murmured in my ear and I nodded, hoping to get some information from him.

 

 

~*~*~

 

I was sneaking through the hallways, avoiding guards with ease thanks to Luna Cadash. I’d run into the Carta woman when I slipped out of Thranduil’s quarters and she was giving me a hand in getting to my friends. I was still fairly drunk, so the fact I was getting around this well was pretty impressive especially since I was rescuing my friends in this state.

 

“Shh quit giggling! Guards are coming.” Luna whispered, smacking my arm lightly. I stifled my giggles and closed my eyes, trying to cool it, when she grabbed my wrist and dragged me along with her again, bringing me up to Thorin’s cell.

 

“Ostanna? Are you alright?” He asked, looking at me weird and I burst out giggling again and nodded in reply.

 

“Yes, I-I’m fine. Listen, we, uh, ha-ha, need to get you out of here. And also? If you truly called me a servant and lied to me about it, I’m going to punch you.” I cleared my throat and tried to get serious but immediately fell victim to the giggles again.

 

“Oh great, we’re getting rescued by Drunky McDrunkerson and a Carta member. This couldn’t possibly go wrong at all.” Varric snorted but before I could protest, Bilbo showed up out of nowhere with the keys, starling Luna and I.

 

“Bilbo! Bilbo, where did you come from? You poofed into the room without us noticing! You have to teach me how you did that!” I whispered to the Hobbit as he unlocked the doors for everyone.

 

“We’re going to have a serious talk when we get out of here.” Thorin said, giving me a look and I shrugged, agreeing easily as we took off after Bilbo and Luna. We were going further and further in, much to the dismay of the others, but Luna quickly shut them up with a glare that could make wood burst into flames. We entered a room where a whole lot of empty barrels were waiting, Bilbo whispering for us to hurry and get in.

 

“Ah, I would do as he says.” I spoke up nervously when the guards’ voices reached us and I couldn’t help but grin just a smidgen when Varric gave me a pointed look.

 

“They sounded really pissed. What did you do?”

 

“Uh… okay, wow, um, hey look barrels. We should get inside. Now.” I stammered, trying to avoid Varric’s question.

 

“What. Did you. Do?” Thorin growled, his eyes narrowed dangerously and I sighed, hanging my head.

 

“Alright, alright, so I might have tricked Thranduil into thinking I was going to sleep with him if he told me what he wanted from the mountain and why and instead of actually fucking him, I got him drunker, naked and tied him to the bed frame by the wrists and ankles.” I was exasperated and really just wanted to get the hell out of there, but with Varric and Thorin pushing me for an explanation, I had to delay us a little longer to explain.

 

“We’re discussing this later. Get in the barrels.” Thorin was grinning from ear to ear as we scrambled into the barrels.

 

“Right, well, I’ll just be tagging along then.” Luna said and slid in with Kili, smiling shyly at him.

 

“Welcome to the Barrel Riding Express where we get you the fuck out of Elven kingdoms right quick! Please, keep all hands, feet and other extremities inside the barrel at all times, hold on to your knickers and have a safe trip!” I shouted as Bilbo pulled the lever, sending all the barrels crashing down into the waters below.


	25. Down the River

The barrels shot through the water as the waves carried us down river and towards freedom. I was still quite drunk which certainly made the ride all that much more fun, if not a bit stomach churning.

 

“How are you doing over there, Cadash?” I shouted gleefully and nearly laughed when I saw her face go green.

 

“I don’t fancy water rides such as this! I’m meant to keep my feet on firm, solid ground!” She shouted back and Varric loudly agreed with her.

 

“Oh, I dunno Varric, I think this is great! We should find a way to make this happen in Kirkwall!” Hawke laughed as Varric shot him a rather dark look from his barrel he was crammed into with Carver.

 

“Hold on!” Thorin shouted as a waterfall came up. I was grinning as water splashed up into my flushed face and I savored the coolness of it.

 

“We have trouble!” I shouted when Legolas and a few other elves came bursting out and started shouting to each other in the other dialect of elvhen and as we drew closer to what was supposed to be our escape, a large, metal sluice gate came up, blocking us from going any farther. Thorin cursed angrily and I could hear Luna swear as well, cursing the elves for their bullshit, Hawke and Carver adding in their two cents as well.

 

 _Well shit, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble._ I thought while taking another gulp of that amazing wine from my wineskin. I’d made sure to refill a few before going to find my friends and I was grateful for the warmth the wine was providing because I was soaked to the bone and freezing my arse off thanks to the cold water that had splashed me while the barrel rushed through the river. A noise caught my attention and I looked up just in time to see an elf get peppered with black arrows, orcs coming in and swarming all over the guard post area.

 

“Well shit. Looks like it’s time to stop drinking and fight. Or keep drinking and still fight. Fuck it, I’ll make it work.” I grinned and hopped out of the barrel, balancing myself on the edge before taking a flying leap, flipping over myself and landed gracefully on the shore, turning to face my friends and bowing.

 

“Did everyone see that? Because I will _not_ be doing that again!” I shouted over at my friends, side stepping out of the way of an orc, cutting it down with my blade. As I whirled and danced about, taking gulps of my wine between fights, I saw Luna and Kili fighting their way up to the lever to open the gate so we could keep going down river.

 

“Shit.” I muttered when an orc drew a bow that was nocked with a particularly bad arrow and I rushed him, ignoring all common sense and slammed right into him, screaming like a banshee to distract him.

 

“You’re mad!” Thorin bellowed, watching with terror in his eyes as I swung myself up onto this orc’s back, riding on his shoulders, finishing off my wine and tossing the empty wineskin aside before jabbing my dagger into the orc’s shoulder.

 

“Thank goodness for that, ‘cause if I wasn’t this would probably never work!” I laughed joyously, twisting the blade deeper into the pale, putrid flesh of my mount, making him shriek with pain. A large, meaty hand latched onto my thigh and I found myself flying through the air, crashing landing into the river just as Luna and Kili got the gate open and I found myself being swept down river, half drowning and half trying to stay afloat, struggling to get to a barrel.

 

“Maker’s breath, get her!” Carver shouted when he and Varric went shooting past. A rough hand grabbed the back of my shirt and hauled me up into a barrel and I looked up through my curtain of wet hair to see Thorin glaring at me.

 

“You are a mad woman.” He growled, gripping my shoulders in his hands tightly and savagely kissing me. I relaxed into the kiss, returning it quite happily and I definitely didn’t want it to stop any time soon, but unfortunately, he pulled away and I scowled angrily at him. Before anyone could say a word, we went down another waterfall and went hurtling through the wild waters, orcs on either side of the river bank chasing us and shooting at us with their arrows, most of them missing us thankfully. An orc came leaping onto our barrel, snarling at us, but Thorin cut him down with a sword he’d picked up earlier, sending the corpse falling back into the waters. We fought hard, killing orcs left and right and I was covered in blood, both mine and not, wine, which I was very upset about, and even a bit of mud, but I ignored everything, focusing on the orcs and keeping them away from us. A loud noise made me flinch and when I glanced over, I nearly pissed myself with laughter. Bombur was stuck inside his barrel and it was rolling quickly over the river bank, knocking orcs aside left and right, flew through the air, knocked more orcs over into the river and finally came to a halt.

 

“Are you seeing this right now? Bombur! You’re fucking amazing!” I howled with laughter when his arms went bursting through the barrel, two axes gripped in his hands, and began to spin rapidly, mowing the orcs down before the barrel finally busted.

 

_Elgar’nan this is just too fucking amazing! We need more adventures like this more often!_


	26. Dealings with the Carta

“Seems like we’re in the clear, I don’t see any orcs behind us or ahead of us.” I called when the river slowed down and we could row with our hands to the rocky shore. We got situated, helping the others out of the barrels and Luna got to work trying to bind up Kili’s leg.

 

“Hey, Wolf Eyes, you’re bleeding pretty badly. Want someone to bind you up?”

 

I turned to see Varric looking over me with a concerned look on his face and I grinned a little, shrugging.

 

“Yes, that’d be lovely. Especially since I had no clue I was bleeding.” I grinned at my friend and took a seat, allowing him and Hawke to take a look.

 

“Maker’s balls, woman, the shit you get yourself into.” Hawke growled as he mopped up the blood from my back and shoulders so he could apply a poultice to my wounds.

 

“What can I say? Drunk Ostanna is much more fun than Sober Ostanna.” I giggled happily. Varric groaned and Hawke slapped me upside the back of the head, grumbling about my bullshit. I made a face and waited patiently as he and Varric finished fixing me up. While we’d been binding up my wounds and Kili’s, a strange human had appeared, a bow drawn and aimed at Ori.

 

“Whoa!” I yelped and watched as Dwalin charged toward the man with branch and Kili tossed a rock at the man, but it was deflected by an arrow. Luna started shouting for everyone to calm down and she walked over to the human and punched him in the thigh.

 

“Knock it off Bard! These guys are friends. They’re with me.”

 

“Damn it Cadash, that hurt. And what do you mean they’re with you?” Bard asked our Carta friend suspiciously, glaring at us and giving her a pointed look. Luna rolled her violet eyes and gave him a nasty look.

 

“They’re with me as in they’re my friends and they’re alright. Look, can you take us back to Laketown? I need to meet up with Clover and find out what’s going on with the Carta.”

 

“Aye, I can take you. Lady Trevelyan has been waiting rather impatiently for you to return from the Woodland Realm.”

 

“Of course she’s been impatient.” Luna grunted and motioned for us to follow after her and into the barge this Bard person had with him. I exchanged looks with Varric and Thorin, shrugging a little at this strange little exchange between Luna and Bard before we clambered into the barge.

 

 

~*~*~

 

“So this is Laketown, huh? Nice place.” I muttered as we followed Luna to an inn where a bunch of dwarves were hanging out and a human woman with long black hair that fell in loose ringlets came walking over with a huge smile on her face.

 

“About time, Cadash! Maker’s breath, you were gone a while. And what interesting friends you’ve brought back, Luna. Thorin Oakenshield, Hawke and his pal Varric… well, well.”

 

“Yeah, well, I helped them out of a tight spot in the Woodland Realm, Clover. We got a ship and supplies they can use? Gotta get ‘em over to that mountain to reclaim their home.” Luna smirked at her friend.

 

“Aye, we do. It’ll take some time to gather things, however, so in the meantime, take them to Bard’s. _Unseen_ , Luna. Do I make myself clear?” Clover warned and Luna scowled at her.

 

“Oh for the love of the Stone, _yes_ Clover, I _get_ it!” Luna muttered in dwarvish under her breath and shot Clover an irate look before leading us off to Bard’s place.

 

“We still need to sit down and discuss what happened in the Woodland Realm.” Thorin murmured when I walked past him to catch up with Hawke and Carver.

 

“I know, Thorin. We will.”


	27. Chapter 27

“We should have Ostanna do it.”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh come on, you saw how well she did drunk! She fought pretty damn gracefully. Just get her drunk and have her break in to steal the weapons.”

 

I looked up and saw Thorin and Dwalin speaking softly after Bard had left and I grinned a little, shaking my head in amusement as they discussed a plan that possibly involved some more of my drunken shenanigans, which I was certainly game for.

 

“So, you and Thranduil huh? I thought you had a thing for the hairy bastard over there?” Hawke muttered, taking a seat next to me and making Kili stay put so he could look at his leg.

 

“His name is Thorin, first off and second off, Thranduil and I? Yeah, it never happened. I tricked him into thinking something was going to happen and just, you know, trussed him up like an Orlesian would a lover in their bedroom.” I shrugged, shooting a scowl in Hawke’s direction.

 

“Stop moving! I have to look at your leg, Kili. This looks really bad. Ostanna, can you fix him?”

 

I turned to study the wound and hissed through my teeth, wincing in sympathy as I looked over the blackened, festering wound.

 

“No, I can’t, but I think I know something that can help. Give me just a moment to find the book.” I grabbed for my bags and dug through them, tossing things out left and right, frowning deeply as I searched for the tome I kept with me for some light reading.

 

 _Where the hell did you get off to you damn book?_ I kept digging around, cheering when I found it and tossed the book at Hawke when Thorin came over to me.

 

“Step outside to talk?” I asked before he could even open his mouth.

 

“If you aren’t busy.”

 

“I’m not. Let’s go.” I said and we stepped out onto the balcony together, shutting the door and I leaned on the wooden railing, looking out over the misty lake.

 

“So.”

 

“You truly believed that I would call you a slave?”

 

I heard the hurt he tried to hide in his voice and my heart clenched tightly as my stomach dropped to the floor.

 

“No… yes…? I… didn’t know _what_ to think, really. We went from disliking each other, to having some serious sexual tension to well, whatever we have going on now. I don’t know what you really think of me.” I didn’t meet his eyes, preferring to stare out over the dark waters instead. I was troubled; were these feelings truly love? Or were they merely lust? I didn’t know and it bothered me.

 

“I would _never_ treat you as anything _but_ an equal, Ostanna.”

 

I felt Thorin put a hand on my arm and I turned to face him, smiling softly and shook my head a little.

 

“I believe you, Thorin.”

 

He smiled and laced his fingers through mine, placing a gentle kiss on my knuckles and looked out over the lake with me. I enjoyed quiet moments like this, just being with someone I cared about and it was almost like the world had quit turning and that time had stopped right in its tracks.

 

“Ostanna?”

 

“Yes, Thorin?”

 

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

 

I felt my lips turn up into a curious half smile as I turned to see what Thorin wanted to say.

 

“I – “

 

“Thorin, come on. Let’s go.” Dwalin poked his head out of the door, interrupting Thorin. He shot his friend a dark look, his stormy sterling eyes flashing with annoyance and I had to stifle a laugh as Dwalin muttered an apology before ducking back into the house.

 

“I love you.” Thorin murmured before kissing me quickly on the lips and sauntering back into Bard’s house, leaving me there with a stupid smile on my face and a deep blush on my face.

 

~*~*~

 

“So we break into their treasury for weapons and instead of getting in trouble we get a party? How bizarre is that?” I laughed over the loud music, beaming as my cup was refilled with more mulled wine. Varric and Hawke were telling wild tales to some of the townsfolk, the laughter from their corner booming and drawing more people to them as they regaled our tales of adventure around Kirkwall.

 

“Would you care to dance with me, my lady?”

 

I turned and saw Thorin smiling faintly at me, his hand held out to me as the music turned to a more danceable tune and I took his hand with a laugh, following him out to the makeshift dance floor. This was different from dancing with Thranduil; whereas it felt more tense and false with the elvhen king, this was more relaxed and actually fun. I couldn’t help but laugh as Thorin twirled me about and dipped me back, a happy grin on his face as we lost ourselves in the moment.

 

“Shall we escape for a while? I could use a break from the noise and I’d like to spend time with you.”


	28. One Night of Fun Before the Storm

Teeth nipped roughly against my neck, scraping skin, leaving behind marks that would last days after this. Fingers clutched at skin, hastily tearing clothes away as lips met in hasty kisses. I was panting and gasping as Thorin threw me onto the bed we’d snatched up at the Carta’s inn, the silken sheets cool against my bare back, the only relief from the heat that filled the room and it was only a fleeting coolness that quickly melted away when Thorin lay himself on me, his lips catching mine once more in a savage kiss.

 

 _If this is only a dream, please let this last forever._ My thoughts were hazy and blissful as Thorin kissed me dizzy. His lips moved from mine to my neck, nipping and suckling at my sensitive skin, making me moan loudly as I tangled my fingers in his hair, tugging roughly when he got to the swell of my breasts. His rough hands gripped my wrists tightly and my hands away from his hair, keeping them pinned above my head and I couldn’t help but grin up at him a little.

 

“Is it too late to mention I _really_ like it rough?” I purred, nearly laughing at the look on his face at my words.

 

“Oh.” Was all he could managed to say and I took advantage of his shock to flip us, so he was on his back, looking up at me. With a coy smile, I pressed light kisses down his chest and over his taut stomach, taking him in hand and licking him from root to crown, wrapping my lips around his cock and taking him all the way to the back of my throat. He moaned loudly, hips bucking and he grabbed a fistful of my hair, tugging roughly. I moaned as he held onto my hair tightly and fucked my mouth before I took control again and pulled away from Thorin, straddling him and sinking myself onto his cock. He groaned again, his fingers gripping onto my hips tightly, fingers bruising tender flesh and I didn’t give a damn. I _wanted_ him to leave marks, I _wanted_ to be sore when this was all said and done and I didn’t care about anything else except this moment.

 

“Ostanna.” Thorin was practically begging as I rolled my hips forward slowly, riding him at a leisurely pace, teasing him and myself at my slow speed. I gave him a toothy grin and bent forward, pressing my lips to his and nipped playfully at his lower lip, nibbling a little before pulling back some, my blonde hair falling over my shoulders and into my face as I looked down at my love.

 

“I love you.” I murmured against his lips, shivering when he rolled us back over so he was on top again.

 

“I love you too, Ostanna.” He whispered before silencing me with a savage kiss and he snapped his hips forward, fucking me hard and fast, getting rough and leaving a fair amount of bite marks and bruises behind when we were done.

 

“That was the best sex I’ve ever had.” I panted, glancing over at Thorin and grinning happily at him. He returned the smile, tenderly brushing my hair out of my face and cupped my cheek in his hand.

 

“I didn’t hurt you, did I love?” Thorin looked concerned when he studied my neck, shoulders and the rest of me where he’d left marks behind.

 

“No, _vhenan_ , you didn’t. I’m fine, I promise.” My voice was reassuring and besides being sore, I wasn’t really hurt, just relaxed and sleepy. He studied me a moment more before pulling me to him and kissing the top of my head and holding me close to him.

 

“Tomorrow is a big day. Are you excited, vhenan?” I questioned, looking up at the handsome dwarven man I’d fallen in love with.

 

“Aye and nervous I suppose. There’s no telling what we’ll find tomorrow and I wish we had at least some idea of what to expect.” He replied after a moment, a strange look on his face as he spoke. I nodded, agreeing completely with him. What if the dragon was merely sleeping? Were we ready to deal with that? And if he _was_ really gone, what would we expect to happen with the elves and the people of Laketown? There were so many questions that didn’t have answers and it was all rather… unsettling. There was a pit in my stomach and it was leaving me with a rather unsettling feeling of fear.


	29. Into the Darkness

By the time morning came, I was even sorer and walking was certainly uncomfortable, though it was very much worth it all. Thorin was more relaxed and walked with a swagger and I saw him speaking with Dwalin, Kili and Fili, grinning widely as he spoke of last night’s events with them. I rolled my eyes but I figured it would happen, so I walked over to where Luna and Clover were waiting around to see what the plan was.

 

“I take it you and Thorin had a good time last night.” Clover nodded her head towards my neck and I grinned sheepishly, nodding in response.

 

“S’alright, we went there last night with Fili and Kili. Obviously not together, but, well, you get the point.” Luna stumbled over her words, turning a brilliant shade of red and I laughed my ass off.

 

“Damn! Looks like Wolf Eyes wasn’t the only one getting a little attention from dwarven royalty.” Varric cackled when he came up behind us and I turned to look at my friend, grinning a little at him.

 

“Shut up Varric.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Listen, stay safe you guys. I’m gonna hang around here with Hawke and Carver, keep an eye on the town just in case.” Varric got serious really quick and I nodded a little, completely understanding of his feelings of not wanting to go into a mountain where a dragon may or may not be living at this moment.

 

 

“Right, we’ll be alright Varric. You guys stay safe here, okay? And don’t let Faolin do anything stupid.” I hugged Varric tightly before heading with the others over to the boat the Carta was providing for us.

 

“You do know we’re one short; where’s Bofur?” Bilbo asked Thorin as we walked. I looked around, realizing Bilbo was indeed right and Bofur was nowhere to be found.

 

“If he’s not here, we leave him behind.”

 

“We have to, if we’re to find the door before nightfall. We can risk no more delays.” Balin sounded resigned to living Bofur behind, but if this Durin’s Day was truly today, then we had no choice but to leave Bofur. He would be alright though; Varric, Hawke and Carver were here and he could wait around with them until we figured out what the situation with the mountain was. As everyone began to load in, Thorin held his arm out, barring Kili from boarding the boat.

 

“Not you. We must travel with speed, you will slow us down.” Thorin spoke roughly, unhappy about leaving his nephew behind.

 

“What are you talking about? I’m coming with you.” Kili was smiling, thinking this was a joke and I felt sorry for him. I knew how badly he wanted to come, but his leg was in pretty bad shape and there’s no way we could get to this secret door in time if we had to worry about Kili.

 

“No.” Thorin was firm in choice and I knew that was the end of the argument. Fili looked at Thorin, surprised and a little angry, but I wasn’t about to get involved, choosing to get in the boat and make my way to the front end of it where Bilbo was sitting.

 

“Well, it’s our time to shine pretty soon, Bilbo.” I murmured, looking out at the lake, my stomach in knots from fear. I wasn’t exactly fond of dragons, not after the ones we fought in Kirkwall, and if I was hearing these tales correctly, this Smaug was a lot bigger than anything we’ve ever faced down.

 

“Yes, I know. Are you alright Ostanna? You look pale.”

 

“To be honest, I’m pretty damn scared, Bilbo. I’ve fought dragons before, sure, but they were a lot smaller than I’m picturing Smaug. We best hope that the worm is dead and gone or at least gone.” I replied, glancing over at my Hobbit friend. He patted my shoulder reassuringly, a slight smile on his face.

 

“I quite agree with you, Ostanna. I’m… not ready to face what may lie ahead.” He spoke quietly, jumping little when the boat began to move. I turned and Thorin motioned for me to come over to sit with him, so I squeezed Bilbo’s shoulder and got up, carefully making my over to Thorin’s side and taking a seat gracefully on the floor of the boat.

 

“Yes _emma lath_?”

 

“What? Oh, no, I just wanted you close.” Thorin murmured, resting a hand on my shoulder, his gaze focused on the mountain. I sighed a little, smiling softly and shook my head, amused.

 

“Right, of course! It all makes sense! I’m a war hound that you can call to your side whenever you wish!” I kept my tone light and playful, though I had to admit I was a little annoyed at being treated like a dog. My words startled Thorin out of his thoughtful gazing and he looked down at me, horrified.

 

“No, no, don’t… that isn’t… Shit.”

 

I burst out laughing, pecked him on the cheek and went to sit back by Bilbo, wanting to discuss our plan of action to get into the mountain to check things out ahead of the others to make sure things were safe.

 

 

~*~*~

 

“So, what are we looking for?” I asked as we entered a tunnel, frowning a little at Balin.

 

“A large, white jewel.” Balin smiled up at me and I raised an eyebrow, looking over at Bilbo and he shrugged a bit.

 

“That’s it? Only, I imagine there’s quite a few down there.” Bilbo added in with a thoughtful frown on his face.

 

“There is only one Arkenstone. You’ll know it when you see it.”

 

My heart stopped when Balin spoke of the Arkenstone. Thranduil had been right; Thorin had only wanted us to fetch the Arkenstone for him. I had to look away from Bilbo and Balin to keep them from seeing my tears. I felt betrayed and angry that Thorin didn’t speak to me of his true intentions and why we were really coming here.

 

“Ostanna? Are you ready?” Bilbo asked and I nodded, pulling my hood up to cover my head and pulled up the mask that was attached to my hood, covering almost my entire face excluding my eyes.

 

“Let’s go.” The mask muffled my choked voice and it kept them from seeing my angry tears.

 

“In truth, lad and lass, I do not know what you will find down there. You needn’t go if you don’t want to, there’s no dishonor in turning around.” Balin said as we began to walk away.

 

“No, Balin, I promised I would do this, and I think I must try.” Bilbo replied kindly. I stayed silent, not trusting myself to speak.

 

“It never ceases to amaze me.” Balin chuckled softly, shaking his head.

 

“What?”

 

“The courage of Hobbits. And the courage of the Dalish. Go now with as much luck as you can muster.” Balin nodded at us and we took off down the tunnel into the darkness.


	30. Smaug

We slipped into a huge hall where a mass amount of treasure was left and I nearly gasped in shock.

 

“And we only get one fourteenth of this? I call bullshit.” I growled under my breath and split off from Bilbo, searching for the damned Arkenstone and pocketing jewels during my search. Suddenly, I felt the gold under me start to move and I found myself tumbling head over heels as Smaug lifted his head and I nearly screamed when gold coins and jewels came raining down on me, burying me under their weight. I was close to panicking, fighting to get myself free and managed to get my head poked out of the gold, gasping for air. Bilbo was nowhere to be seen and I was almost ready to scream when I felt something grab my wrist and help pull me out of the gold.

 

“Bilbo?” I hissed and he confirmed it was indeed him, speaking quietly and I crept after him, sticking to the shadows and trying to ignore the dragon that was intent on finding us.

 

“Well, thieves, I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air. Where are you?” Smaug’s voice rumbled around us as we hid from him.

 

“Come now, don’t be shy. Step into the light. Mmm, there is something about you, something you carry. Something made of gold, but far more…. PRECIOUSSSSS.” Smaug hissed, eyeing the place where I thought Bilbo could be hiding, and I watched in horror as Bilbo suddenly appeared before Smaug.

 

“There you are, thief in the shadows. Where is your friend?”

 

“I did not come to steal from you, O Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy. I merely wanted to gaze upon your magnificence, to see if you really were as great as the old tales say. I did not believe them.” Bilbo lied through his teeth and even I was impressed. I took a silent step forward but Bilbo signaled me with a very faint shake of his to not come closer. I stopped in mid step, nodded dejectedly and continued to slip past them to find the Arkenstone while Bilbo and Smaug continued to speak. A sparkle caught my eyes and I could see the Arkenstone; it was near Bilbo under a pile of coins and there was no way I could get to it without Smaug seeing me. I waited for a moment, hesitating and debating before quickly coming to a decision and jumped out of the shadows, landing on Smaug’s tail.

 

“What is this?!” He roared, whipping his head back to look at me. I waved cheerfully as I raced up his spiny tail and up to his back, working my way towards his neck.

 

“Dragon slayer at your service, arsebiscuit!” I spat up at him, hoping this would give Bilbo the time and distraction he needed to get the stone. Smaug growled and belched flames at me, but I ducked down and held onto his rough hide, wincing as the sharpness of his scales sliced through my armor and cut into my skin. When the flames died, I kept climbing, finding it tough to do thanks to blood coated hands but I continued to hold on tight and push my way on.

 

“I will be your worst nightmare, worm! The Dalish aren’t afraid of dragons! We relish in killing them! I will bring you down and I will turn your scales into a lovely set of armor.” I continued through grit teeth and slammed my fist into his eye. He bellowed in pain, tossing his head about and knocking over some stone pillars in his rampage. I gripped on as tight as I could, but I felt my fingers slipping thanks to the blood on them and it was a long drop down from the beasts head.

 

“Wolf Eyes!” Bilbo shouted, the sound faint from way up where I was at. I fought the urge to look down, focusing instead on keeping myself up on Smaug, swinging my body back and forth until I had enough momentum going to flip myself back up and onto the top of his head where I sat there, trying to balance as best as possible.

 

“The King under the mountain is dead. I took his throne.” Smaug hissed, chasing after Bilbo as Bilbo chased the Arkenstone.

 

“I ate his people like a wolf among sheep. I kill where I wish, when I wish. My armor is iron. No blade can pierce me!” Smaug continued as he rampaged through the hall, trying to dislodge me and capture Bilbo to eat. I clung on tightly, cursing under my breath as the sharpness of his scales ripped even deeper into my hands.

 

“It’s Oakenshield. That filthy dwarvish usurper! He sent you in here for the Arkenstone, didn’t he?”

 

I couldn’t hear Bilbo’s reply over the pounding of my own heart beating. Smaug moved quickly, ducking his head to look under a stone structure for Bilbo and the sudden, jarring movement sent me tumbling back down his neck. I scrabbled for purchase, tearing my nails up in the process, but finally caught myself half way down his neck where I held on tightly.

 

“Don’t bother denying it. I guessed his foul purpose some time ago. But it matters not. Oakenshield’s quest will fail. The darkness is coming; it will spread to every corner of the land.” Smaug rumbled nastily.

 

“Bilbo! Bilbo, leave! Now!” I shouted from where I hung off of Smaug, hoping my friend would leave and let me handle the giant lizard and the Arkenstone. Smaug continued ranting and stumbling about looking for Bilbo.

 

“BILBO RUN!” I screamed as Smaug’s chest glowed a bright golden color as he belched flames where Bilbo had been standing. I didn’t see a pile of ashes where Bilbo had been standing, so I assumed he got away and I was grateful for his escape.


	31. A New Side to Thorin

I tumbled from Smaug’s neck, falling through the air and hit the stone outcropping Bilbo and I had first come out onto before we went treasure hunting. Something cracked when I hit the ground and I cried out loudly, tears streaming down my face as I dragged myself up to my feet.

 

“You’re alive!” Thorin’s voice distracted me for a moment from my pain and I looked up to see him and Bilbo come rushing over to where I was standing.

 

“Not for much longer.” Bilbo panted, getting under my right arm to help balance me while Thorin stood there and looked at us.

 

“Did you find the Arkenstone?” He asked, his gaze focused on us and I shook my head, unsure if Bilbo had actually gotten the stone or not.

 

“The dragon’s coming!”

 

“The Arkenstone!”

 

We were standing in front of the tunnel’s entrance and I was swaying on my feet, my vision going dark around the edges. Thorin was blocking the way and I just wanted to leave, but his tone made me stop and look at him strangely.

 

“Did you find it?” He asked more quietly. We stared at Thorin, everyone breathing heavily, and Bilbo shook his head.

 

“No. We have to get out. Ostanna is hurt, maybe dying, I don’t know.” Bilbo said and tried to move us into the tunnel, but Thorin swung his sword across the entrance, blocking us from moving. I watched as Thorin pressed the blade against Bilbo, sending us stumbling back and I slipped, falling to the ground and letting out a pained yelp, but Thorin ignored it, the tip of his blade pressed to Bilbo’s chest.

 

“ _Emma lath_! Stop! _Ma vhenan_ , this is foolish behavior!” I gasped as Thorin backed Bilbo up to the edge of the outcropping, a dark look on his face, and I pulled myself to my feet and staggered over to the two, slapping the blade away from Bilbo, barely flinching as his blade bit into the already ruined skin of my palm.

 

“Enough!” I roared, getting in front of Bilbo, refusing to let Thorin hurt the hobbit in his anger. Bilbo’s sudden head turn made me look away from Thorin just in time to see Smaug approaching us from over a giant pile of treasure.

 

“You know what? Fuck this. Heroics time it is then.” I snarled and mustering up all the strength I could, I took off running in Smaug’s direction, letting out the loudest war cry I could manage. My feet pushed off the edge of the outcropping, time slowing down as I flew through the air and landed on Smaug’s face, driving one of my swords into the softer scales on his face before pulling my other blade out and using them to pull myself up Smaug’s face.

 

“Eat shit, you giant lizard bastard.” I swung myself up just right and smashed my feet into the dragon’s right eye. He screamed in pain, his piercing shriek making the whole world shake and I found myself flying through the air, away from the beast. The next thing I knew, I was smashing through a stone pillar and tumbling down into the gold, buried deep into the treasure, bleeding out and having a difficult time breathing.

 

 _At least that fucking lizard got something to remember me by._ I thought hazily as I blacked out.

 

 

~*~*~

 

[Thorin’s POV]

 

“Is she going to make it?”

 

“I don’t know lad. She’s hurt very badly. There might even be internal bleeding and I can’t fix that. We need Hawke; only a healer can fix these wounds. If we don’t get him here soon, she’ll die.”

 

I listened to Balin and Bilbo discuss Ostanna’s condition, my hand gripping hers tightly.

 

 _How could she be so stupid? Why would she_ willingly _leap at a dragon?_ I roughly rubbed my knuckles over my eyes, brushing the tears that welled in my eyes away.

 

“Wake up, Ostanna. Please wake up.” I whispered, kissing her bloodied hand. We had sent Smaug running and while that in itself was a victory, it felt hollow. The Arkenstone was nowhere to be found, Ostanna could be dying and I was at a loss as to what I should do.

 

“When you awaken, I’ll make you beautiful necklaces and rings, I’ll shower you with beautiful jewels that match your eyes and you will be treated like a queen, but you _have_ to live. You have to.” I told her quietly before getting to my feet and going to speak with the others of what we should do.

 

“What have we done?” Bilbo asked hoarsely before going to sit with Ostanna, his head bowed and he spoke quietly to her body while I myself wondered the same thing but only for a brief moment before turning my thoughts to the Arkenstone and locating it.


	32. Alive

[Ostanna’s POV]

 

“What the hell did you do to her, Chuckles?!”

 

I could faintly hear Varric yelling at Thorin and I wondered what was going on and why he and Thorin were fighting again. I mean, it was nothing new but I still didn’t understand why Varric sounded _so_ angry.

 

“If Hawke can’t heal her, I’ll fucking kill you. I didn’t offer to get her help for her to just die because you want a damn jewel.”

 

I sat up, shocked at Varric’s words and walked over to them, hands on my hips and a scowl on my face.

 

“Enough you two! Creators, you sound like children!” I snapped angrily. They didn’t acknowledge me; Varric turned on his heel and marched away and Thorin went back to the hall with all the gold.

 

“Um, hello? Are you really going to ignore me?” I shouted after them, bewildered by the silent treatment, and then when Bilbo walked right through me, I screamed loudly.

 

“Am I dead? I’m dead, aren’t I? Oh Creators!” My eyes got wide and I slowly started walking around, waving my arms, trying to get anyone’s attention until my gaze fell to Hawke and my body. I walked over, sitting down across from Hawke and just watched and listened to him. He was hunched over my body, crying as he worked, blood on his hands and he was downing lyrium potions just to stay energized enough to try to heal me.

 

“Don’t you dare die on me Ostanna, I will never forgive you and I sure as fuck won’t forgive Thorin. I should have come with you. Or I should have made you stay in Laketown with us. You don’t deserve this fate. You just don’t.” He sobbed angrily, his hands clenched into fists, the exhaustion on his face clear as day. I leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, hoping that would help any and I got to my feet, going off to find where Thorin was.

 

“Any sign of it?!”

 

I heard Thorin shouting from the treasure hall and my feet carried me in that direction. When I passed through the doorway, I found him supervising the others as they searched through all of the treasure, hunting for that stupid stone.

 

“Nothing yet.” Dwalin called over from where he was, wiping his brow and frowning deeply as he continued to look on.

 

“Nothing here.” Nori added in and Thorin shouted for them to keep looking. They looked beat and worn down but continued the search for the Arkenstone, weary and I shook my head at the way Thorin was acting.

 

“Thorin, they’re only mortal. They need to rest, _you_ need to rest. This jewel isn’t that important _vhenan_.” I murmured in his ear and I saw him jerk a little, looking around, searching for where my voice was coming from but it passed quickly and he focused on giving orders once again. I didn’t know how much time had passed, it felt like centuries, but I soon found myself watching Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, Varric and Bilbo speaking to one another in the throne room where Thorin was staring intently at the space where the Arkenstone should be placed.

 

“It is here in these halls – I know it.”

 

“We have searched and searched…” Dwalin began but Thorin cut him off with a biting glare.

 

“Not well enough!”

 

“Thorin, we all would see the stone returned.” Dwalin was trying to speak reasonably with Thorin but something was wrong with _ma vhenan_ and he was being unreasonable, not listening and arguing still.

 

“And yet, it is still not FOUND!”

 

“Calm down there, Chuckles.” Varric’s tone was guarded almost cold and Thorin scowled at him angrily.

 

“Do you doubt the loyalty of anyone here?” Balin jumped in quickly, trying to soothe things over and get them to calm down. Thorin turned and began to walk towards them, his gait a little off and the look in his eyes spoke volumes of anger and greed that sent chills down my spine.

 

“The Arkenstone is the birthright of our people.” Balin continued slowly, almost cautiously.

 

“It is the King’s Jewel. AM I NOT THE KING?!” Thorin was shouting now and he whirled away from the small group gathered, walking away from them. I shook my head, disappointed, and went back to Hawke to watch over him. Carver and Bofur were with him when I arrived and I was thankful to see them there with Hawke.

 

“Brother, you need to rest. You haven’t slept in at least two days.” Carver murmured, his hand on Hawke’s shoulders.

 

“If I sleep, she dies. I won’t lose her Carver, I just won’t.”

 

“Ostanna’s loved by a lot of people, Hawke. No one wants to see her die but no one wants to see you drop dead from exhaustion, either.” Bofur added kindly. Hawke’s laugh was bitter, almost brittle sounding and when he looked up, I swore loudly at how pale and drawn his face was.

 

“You have no idea how special she is, Bofur. She’s truly one of a kind and has so many friends that would be devastated if she died because of this stupid job. I can’t quit now, I just can’t let her go.”

 

“Oh, Faolin, please just rest.” I leaned forward, reaching out to brush his blonde hair out of his face when I felt myself tumbling forward and I let out a loud gasp, my eyes flying open, startling everyone around me.

 

“Ostanna!”

 

I gave a pained croak when Bofur, Carver and Hawke hugged me tightly, laughing and in Hawke’s case, crying a bit.

 

“We didn’t think you’d ever wake up! You’ve been almost dead for three days now!” Bofur was grinning widely and he had a few unshed tears in his eyes.

 

“I have Hawke to thank for helping me. Now get some sleep, please, you look half dead yourself.” I replied warmly and Hawke curled up right where he was at and went right to sleep.

 

“Here, I’ll help you to Thorin. He’ll want to know you’re awake now.”


	33. Chapter 33

Bofur helped me into the treasure hall where Thorin was staring out over the mass amount of treasure, brow furrowed in frustration and when he heard us behind him, he turned, the frown blooming into a full blown smile.

 

“You’re alive.”

 

“It’ll take more than an overgrown lizard to kill me.” I smiled charmingly at him and winced when he swept me up into a crushing embrace.

 

“Easy, easy, I’m still technically broken!” I gasped in pain, my ribs still very tender and possibly still cracked. He let go quickly, apologizing hastily and I waved it off, grinning a little as I carefully lowered myself to the ground to sit down, exhausted already from walking.

 

“Bofur, go help the others. I wish to speak to Ostanna privately.” Thorin dismissed Bofur, barely looking at him as he walked past, clapping my shoulder gently on his way to help the others find that Arkenstone. Thorin sat next to me, lacing his fingers through mine and pressed soft kisses to my knuckles absently, watching our friends working.

 

“I promised that when you awoke, I would shower you with jewels, make you necklaces and rings and treat you like a queen.” He murmured softly, still not looking at me but he traced little patterns onto the palm of my hand, his fingers rough against the still tender and healing skin of my palms. It took everything I had to not rip my hand away from him, but my hands still hurt from being torn up by Smaug’s scales.

 

“Thorin, I don’t require necklaces, rings and jewels. I just… I…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say to him, though my protests were unneeded since they were falling on deaf ears. Thorin proceeded to get to his feet and walk away, going down to the treasure and speaking with Dwalin quietly. I shook my head and got to my feet, lurching a little as I tried to steady myself before limping out of the room to find Varric and Hawke.

 

“There you are! Holy shit Ostanna, I am really glad to see you up and walking.” Varric had found me first and helped me into a stone chair so I could sit and rest, Hawke and Carver sitting with us.

 

“I’m rested up and I need to finish healing you. Your internal injuries were the worst of it all and aside from your ribs, I got them taken care of. Now I just need to deal with the minor things.” Hawke still looked tired, but I knew he was determined to finish what he started so I complied without argument, allowing him finish healing me up.

 

“Oh, that feels so much better. Thank you, Faolin.” I hugged him tightly before pulling away to stretch out, wincing at the tightness that pulled at my muscles. I would be sore for a while, but at least I wasn’t dead.

 

“Varric, do you know where Balin is by any chance? I need to speak with him about something Thorin said.” I asked, looking up at my friend, biting my lip a little.

 

“Yeah, come on.”

 

I followed after Varric, quiet and lost in my own thoughts, wondering what I should do about Thorin. Something happened when we got to this mountain and whatever it was, it was changing Thorin and not for the better. His behavior was almost like Smaug’s in a way.

 

“It’s good to see you up and walking, lass. You had us worried.”

 

I jumped a bit then grinned sheepishly at Balin, taking a seat next to him and nodding at Varric when he mentioned going back to talk to Hawke.

 

“Balin, I’m worried about Thorin. Something’s wrong with him.” I knew I could speak freely with the older man, not worried he would speak to Thorin about my concerns because I could tell he had the same feelings I did about the matter.

 

“Aye lass. Dragon-sickness – I’ve seen it before. That look. That terrible need. It is a fierce and jealous love. It sent his grandfather mad.”

 

“He… also mentioned that he was going to bestow necklaces and jewels upon me, treat me like a queen. I don’t _want_ necklaces and other baubles. I just want him.”

 

Balin held a look of surprise on his face that quickly became a trouble frown, signaling that there was something off about what I said.

 

“Be careful lass. If he does offer these things to you, be wary about taking them. I have not known one to be truly kind and generous when they’re affected by the dragon-sickness. It’s just as likely he will hold his gifts over you and try to control you with them.”

 

“That’s what I fear, Balin. I am afraid. More afraid than I was of Smaug; I don’t wish to see Thorin like this.”

 

~*~*~

 

“These are for you.”

 

I looked up from my sketchbook to see Thorin approaching me with a beautiful necklace that had a moon on it with a little star hanging off of the end of the moon and a pretty little blue crystal that matched my eye color almost perfectly dangling next to the little star, along with a few bracelets dotted with the same small jewels and a ring with a beautiful sapphire sparkling in the middle of it.

 

“Oh. Thorin, these are lovely.” I murmured, carefully taking the necklace from him and studying it closely, admiring how delicate it was and Thorin gently took it from me before moving to stand behind me and fasten it around my neck.

 

“You look beautiful.” He murmured in my ear, his warm breath on my neck and ear sending shivers through me.

 

“Th-thank you, _vhenan_ , but I don’t… I don’t feel right accepting these gifts.” I spoke up as he fastened the bracelets around my wrists and slipped the ring onto my finger.

 

“Ostanna, you are to be a queen. Accept them.” Thorin reprimanded gruffly. I remained quiet, watching him with a cautious look, wondering what he was getting at exactly.

 

“You aren’t a dwarven woman, but it doesn’t matter I suppose. You’ll make a fine queen, even if you are an elf.” He said dismissively and I reeled from his words. What in the Creators’ name was his problem?

 

“Go speak to Balin. You will need to learn how to be a queen and not just an elvish savage.” He continued before walking off to deal with Fen’Harel knew what, leaving me sitting there with a dropped jaw and wondering what just happened.


	34. Chapter 34

In my anger, I’d packed all of my things up and slipped out of Erebor, wanting to just get out for a while and clear my head. The fresh air was nice and cool and the sun was just setting, painting the sky with beautiful colors that I wished I had time so paint but if I wanted to get out and do a little hunting and get back to my “savage” roots, I would have to hustle and get away from this place. I had left the gifts from Thorin on a stone table, leaving him a little note and the sketch I’d been working on under the necklaces, bracelets and ring. I glanced behind me one more time before continuing on my way, jogging off, working my way down to the ruins of Dale where I was startled to find the people of Laketown were camped out there. I made my way through the throngs of people, looking for Bard and calling out to him when I spotted him.

 

“Ostanna, right? What are you doing here?” Bard looked puzzled to see me and I gave him a slight smile, shrugging a little.

 

“It’s… a long story. Would you mind terribly if I stayed here for the evening? I can help out or stay out of the way.”

 

“We could use all the help we can get.” He sounded relieved and I nodded briskly, immediately jumping into action and taking charge, calling out orders and working on gathering the kids up into one area with the women and the wounded, taking quick notes of who all was hurt and what everyone needed. Soon, things were more manageable and I was able to find a place to crash for the night. I slept uneasily, my dreams dark and disturbing, leaving me with a rather unpleasant feeling in the pit of my stomach. Finally, after this latest nightmare I got up, giving up on getting any restful sleep and walked about, checking in on people and making sure they were alright.

 

“Morning Ostanna, walk with me?” Bard asked and I followed after him, listening to his concerns about food and water, trying to figure out a way to get food and water that would be able to satisfy all these people’s needs.

 

“Morning, Alfrid. What news from the night watch?” Bard asked that slimy worm, Alfrid when we approached him.

 

“All quiet, sire, I must report. Nothing gets past me.” I caught Alfrid’s yawn and I made a face at him, catching on to the fact he slept through his turn on watch.

 

“Except an army of elves, it would seem.”

 

I ran smack into Bard’s back, eyes getting wide and I cursed under my breath.

 

“Oh, hey, um… Bard, I should probably wait here. Away from Thranduil. Far away, actually.”

 

“Why? What happened?”

 

“I… would rather not speak of it.” I grinned a little, my face turning dark red and Bard dragged me after him, shaking his head and we passed through the group over to where Thranduil was perched on top of a large hart. He looked down at us, his eyebrows raised when he spotted me trying to stay hidden behind Bard and the smirk that touched his lips made me squirm uncomfortably.

 

“My lord Thranduil; we did not look to see you here.” Bard was definitely surprised to see the elvhen king here but the surprise quickly melted into gratefulness when a wagon full of food and drink was brought in for the people of Laketown.

 

“I heard you needed aid.”

 

“You have saved us! I do not know how to thank you.”

 

“Your gratitude is misplaced. I did not come on your behalf. I came to reclaim something of mine.”

 

“It figures the pampered little elf king would only care of jewels and nothing more.” I snorted and Thranduil whipped his head over to me.

 

“What was that?” He gracefully slid off his mount and walked up to me, glaring down angrily.

 

“I believe you heard me, my lord.” I shot back, my hands on my hips and I scowled up at him. Thranduil was infuriating and as much as I hated to even think it, he was pretty damned attractive, especially when he was angry. He turned away from me after a moment more of angrily glaring at me and watched his troops march out of Dale.

 

“Wait! Please, wait! You would go to war over a handful of gems?” Bard shouted, eyes wide and he was very upset.

 

“The heirlooms of my people are not lightly forsaken.” Thranduil looked back at us and I shook my head, disgusted. Between Thorin and Thranduil, I was sick to death of people wanting nothing but jewels.

 

“We are allies in this. My people also have a claim upon the riches in that mountain! Let me speak with Thorin!” Bard protested much to my surprise and I fought the urge to laugh. Thorin wasn’t in the right state of mind to speak with anyone logically at the moment.

 

“You would try to reason with a dwarf?” Thranduil’s lips turned up in a sneer and he chuckled without any real humor in it.

 

“To avoid war? Yes!”

 

“Good luck Bard, you’ll need it.” I snorted and walked off to find a quiet place to work on sharpening my swords and other various weapons up just in case battle was to happen. Once I finally found somewhere, I set my things down and straightened up when I heard someone behind me.

 

“You were right about him.” I spoke up, not even glancing back to know Thranduil was the one behind me. I could hear him chuckle darkly and his hand rested on my shoulder, his long, thin fingers gripping tightly onto my bare skin before he forced me to turn and look at him.

 

“We still have some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of.”


	35. Trouble

“I need to sharpen my weapons; can we discuss what happened at another time? Say, oh, I don’t know… Never? Because never works pretty well for me.” I asked him, feigning politeness before turning away from the elven king again and knelt down to unpack my gear, digging through my bag to find my whetstone.

 

“Get up, wench, we are not done with this discussion.”

 

I found myself being yanked up to my feet by my hair and I snarled at him viciously, my hands clenched into tight fists and I swung out at him, my fist connecting with his mouth. He cursed and dropped me, putting a hand to his lip and I smirked when I saw I had drawn blood and I was eager to do it again. Maybe I’d bust his nose the next swing. Before I even got a chance to ready myself for another swing at him, his fingers latched onto my shirt and he shoved me back into a corner, my back pressed into cold stone and his body pressed against mine, his hand keeping mine pinned above my head.

 

“You dare strike me?” He growled furiously, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he ground my wrists into the stone with his powerful grip. My lips pressed into a thin line and I refused to speak, keeping my head lifted defiantly, staring him down with a silent and cold fury. His lips twisted into a sardonic smile as he looked me over with a cool stare.

 

“Here’s an idea, Thranduil: bite me.” I hissed, struggling in his firm grip to get free. His soft laugh was humorless and cruel as he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. His lips were soft but the kiss in itself was cruel and hateful; his teeth latching onto my bottom lip and biting down hard. I could taste him, all mulled wine and bitterness and I could taste my own blood, tangy, almost metallic as he deepened the kiss before pulling away just as quickly as he started this. Blood still welled on my lip but I ignored it, focused on Thranduil. My body trembled with rage and I knew he loved this from the look in his eyes.

 

“I can see why Thorin cares for you. You have a fire in you and you are rather adorable when you’re angry.” Thranduil reached up with his free hand and stroked my cheek softly.

 

“I don’t enjoy being teased, nor do I enjoy being around _you_ , Thranduil.” I spoke caustically, looking up at my arms and trying to get free again when he grabbed my chin tightly, gripping hard and forcing me to look at him.

 

“Enough! If you don’t cooperate, your dwarven lover will suffer greatly for it.”

 

I stopped moving, my eyes growing wide with fear; I was angry at Thorin but I didn’t want anything to happen to him, so I stopped moving and waited to see what Thranduil wanted. He didn’t say a word, just moved my hands from the wall and bound them together with soft leather strips, tying them tightly.

 

“You will be a bargaining chip of sorts, my little wolf. But to ensure you won’t run away, I’m keeping your hands bound and maybe a collar and chain might be useful to put into use as well.”

 

My lip curled in disgust as I looked down at my wrists, blood boiling in anger and I looked back up at Thranduil, eyes narrowed dangerously. I was done suffering through these indignities and I had had enough of Thranduil’s bullshit.

 

“Hey, Thranduil, eat my entire ass.” I reared my head back and head-butted him as hard as I could, breaking his nose and sending him tumbling back onto his ass. I knelt down and managed to get one of my blades up and cut through the leather straps, freeing my wrists and I hauled Thranduil up to his feet, gripping onto him tightly.

 

“I am no man’s bargaining tool. Do not presume to use me as such and Creators help you if you dare lay a hand on me again, flat-ear. Now drink this, it’ll heal your nose.” I dropped Thranduil and handed him a vial of red liquid Hawke had given me to help heal injuries quicker. Thranduil looked at it cautiously before taking it and downing it, wincing as his nose fixed itself up.

 

“If you don’t fucking mind, I’ve got work to do.” I continued, taking a seat on a large boulder and began to sharpen my weapons up, ignoring Thranduil as he stared at me before walking away, muttering angrily under his breath.


	36. War

_So Bard could not convince my love to stop this foolishness and now Thranduil is to attack at dawn. And I am here, doing nothing._ I was bitter and unsure of what the future held for us all besides war and bloodshed. I’d lived through my homeland being destroyed and the elves enslaved as well as two Exalted Marches on my people; I was tired of war and bloodshed.

 

“My lady, Lord Thranduil wishes to speak to you in his tent.” An elven soldier came up to me, bowing low and with a sigh, I got to my feet and followed after him, taking a deep breath before entering the tent.

 

“Gandalf! Bilbo?” I grinned widely when I saw my two friends and I scooped Bilbo up into a tight hug before setting him down.

 

“Ostanna! Thorin is furious that you left. He was ranting about you being a thief and he thinks you have the Arkenstone.” The worry in Bilbo’s voice was enough to make me pause a moment.

 

“Well, shit.” I took a seat on the floor, stunned and trying to wrap my head around what he just said to me.

 

“I’m the one who took it.” Bilbo continued speaking, putting a package on a table, unwrapping it to reveal the beautiful gem I almost died for.

 

“The heart of the mountain! The King’s Jewel.” Thranduil got to his feet quickly, surprise on his face as he slowly approached the jewel.

 

“And worth a king’s ransom. How is this yours to give?” Bard asked, looking at Bilbo in awe, admiring the jewel.

 

“I took it as my fourteenth share of the treasure.” Bilbo spoke confidently and I admired him for taking a huge risk like this.

 

“Why would you do this? You owe us no loyalty.”

 

“I’m not doing it for you. I know that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult, suspicious and secretive… with the worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they are also brave and kind… and loyal to a fault. I’ve grown fond of them, and I would save them if I can. Thorin values this stone above all else. In exchange for its return, I believe he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war!”

 

“And what of our lovely guest? Does Thorin not value her?”

 

Bilbo looked up at Thranduil, frowning deeply and he looked back and forth between us.

 

“Of course he does. He’s rather upset that she’s gone.” Bilbo replied cautiously before following Gandalf out of the tent. Bard departed as well and I joined him quietly, lost in my own thoughts of what Bilbo said. Tomorrow it would all come down to what Thorin would say when he saw the Arkenstone.

 

“Good night, Bard. I will see you in the morning.” I nodded at the bargeman, clapping him on the shoulder before heading off to get some sleep.

 

~*~*~

 

Sunshine hit me in the face, making me scrunch my face up and shift away from the light, grumbling under my breath. I hated waking up early and I was not a morning person in the slightest, but something was… very off this morning. When I opened an eye, bleary with sleep, I saw my wrists were bound once more and I woke up quickly, panicking a little when I realized that I was on the back of Thranduil’s hart, draped across the man’s lap like a blanket and I began to struggle to free myself.

 

“Are you fucking kidding me? Again with the wrist binding Thranduil? You are a bastard, I hope you know that.” I muttered darkly and he snorted with laughter as he pulled his steed to a halt when an arrow came flying towards us. It hit the ground right in front of Bard and Thorin’s mounts, startling them.

 

“I will put the next one between your eyes!” Thorin shouted from where he was standing while the others cheered and shook their weapons loudly in response. I couldn’t see what happened but I could feel Thranduil tense up a little and then heard the elven army behind us do something.

 

“We’ve come to tell you; payment of your debt has been offered… and accepted.” I could hear the smirk in his voice and it was sickening.

 

“What payment? I gave you nothing! You have nothing!” Thorin shouted back and I felt Thranduil grab the back of my shirt and haul me up into a sitting position while Bard reached into his robe and pulled out the Arkenstone.

 

“We have this!” Bard said, holding the stone out to him and Thranduil’s smirk got bigger.

 

“And we have your lovely elvhen wench. She’ll make a wonderful queen, don’t you think, dwarf?” Thranduil called, moving my hair out of the way and placing a gentle kiss on my neck. I jerked away from him, disgusted and I could see the pain and anger on Thorin’s face from where I was sitting.

 

“They have the Arkenstone? Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the King!” Kili shouted from his place next to Thorin, gripping onto Luna’s hand tightly.

 

“And the king may have it – in our good will. But first he must honor his word.” Bard called back, putting Arkenstone back into his robe. Thranduil’s hand was resting on my shoulder and he slid his arm around my neck, holding me close to him just to anger Thorin even more.

 

“THE ARKENSTONE IS IN THIS MOUNTAIN! IT IS A TRICK!” Thorin bellowed after a moment of muttering to himself darkly.

 

“It-It’s no trick. The stone is real. I gave it to them.” Bilbo spoke up and I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what Thorin would do to the poor Hobbit. I could feel Thranduil tense up again and I realized that he and from the looks of it, Bard, had no idea Bilbo had returned here; they thought he was still safe in the Dale.

 

“You…” Thorin and the others were staring at Bilbo in shock at his proclamation.

 

“I took it as my fourteenth share. Ostanna had nothing to do with this; she was not the one who kept the stone from you.” Bilbo explained calmly to Thorin.

 

“You would steal from me? And leave me to blame my beloved?”

 

“Steal from you? No. No. I may be a burglar, but I like to think I am an honest one. I’m willing to let it stand against my claim. And it was never my intention for Ostanna to be placed with the blame at all, she’s my friend and I care deeply for her.” Bilbo was shaking his head and took a step back away from the anger practically radiating off of Thorin.

 

“Against your claim?! Your claim! You have no claim over me you miserable rat!” Thorin snarled, throwing his bow down in anger and began to walk towards Bilbo.

 

“I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to, but…” Bilbo trailed off, stammering and stumbling.

 

“But what, thief?!”

 

“You are changed, Thorin! The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word! Would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin!” Bilbo spoke pleadingly, passionately, trying to make Thorin see reason but his words did nothing to assuage the fury that burned brightly in the dwarven king that glowered at the hobbit.

 

“Do not speak to me… of loyalty!” Thorin turned to the others and shouted for them to throw Bilbo from the ramparts. The shock on their faces mirrored the look on mine and I was close to biting Thranduil just to break free to save my friend.

 

“DO YOU HEAR ME?!” He boomed, grabbing Fili’s arm but Fili shook him away and backed up, standing in front of Clover protectively.

 

“Thorin!” I shouted at him, fighting Thranduil to get free, but he held onto me too tightly.

 

“Quiet, you insolent woman! I will do it myself!” He bellowed back before turning back to Bilbo, lunging at him, grabbing him roughly and I screamed loudly as Thorin struggled with Bilbo.

 

“CURSE YOU!”

 

“No!” Fili shouted as the others shouted their protests, leaping forward and struggling to pull Thorin away from a terrified Bilbo. He managed to grab back onto him and began to push him over the rampart and with that, I slammed the back of my head in Thranduil’s chin and slid off of the hart and began to sprint over to the wall, skidding to a halt when I heard Gandalf coming up from behind me.

 

“Cursed be the Wizard that forced you on this Company!” Thorin hissed at Bilbo darkly.

 

“IF YOU DON’T LIKE MY BURGALR… Then please don’t damage him. Return him to me! You’re not making a very splendid figure as king under the mountain, are you? Thorin son of Thrain!” Gandalf had started off with a loud booming voice, amplified by magic that quickly went back to normal tones when he got by Thranduil and Bard. Thorin slowly let Bilbo up and some of the others rushed to help Bilbo up.

 

“Never again will I have dealings with wizards… Or Shire-rats!” Thorin snorted in annoyance as Bilbo and I headed back over to Gandalf. Thranduil grabbed the back of my shirt once more and hoisted me back onto the hart, eyes sparkling dangerously as he looked at me with a warning look, grabbing my chin in his hand once again.

 

“Do not _ever_ do that again.” He hissed and moved me back to how I’d been sitting before.

 

“Are we resolved? The return of the Arkenstone and Ostanna for what was promised.” Bard called out to Thorin. I could see his jaw clench, the muscle twitching as he looked out to a ridge in the distance, as if looking for something or someone.

 

“Give us your answer! Will you have peace or war?” Bard continued impatiently, shifting a little in the saddle. Thorin bowed his head and I hoped he would call for peace, but a large raven flew up to the ramparts and perched beside him. Thorin stared at the raven for a long moment before looking up at us with a grim smile on his face.

 

“I will have war!”


	37. Goodbye

_I am in love with a fool._ I thought angrily as I fought an orc that was intent on ripping me in two with its nasty looking blade. What started out as a possible war between the dwarves, elves and humans quickly changed to a battle that pitted dwarves, elves, and humans against orcs and I was thoroughly through with everything.

 

I was still in wonderment that Thranduil even agreed to fight, even saving my life a few times in the process and I found myself actually feeling pleased that he stayed at a reasonable distance away, killing orcs left and right.

 

“Thranduil! Watch it!” I shouted out a warning, but it was too late, his elk was shot down by a hoard of orcs and tumbled down to the ground, rolling and hopping up to his feet, surrounded by orcs.

 

 _Fucks sake, am I always having to swoop in and provide distraction? I need to just wear a sign that says “not a decoy” from now on._ I thought grumpily as I raced lightly on my feet to the hoard of orcs, slicing two of them in half and sent another one’s head flying.

 

“You’re fucking welcome!” I said after we killed the orcs around us. Thranduil crushed me against him, pressing his lips to mine before pulling away quickly and moving on to kill more orcs. I stood there, eyebrows raised and lips quirked into a sort of smile and with a shake of my head I went about clearing out the city.

 

 

~*~*~

 

[Hawke’s POV]

 

I watched from the shadows, leaning back on a stone pillar, as Thorin merely sat there on his throne, doing nothing to help his people or Ostanna, the woman he claimed to love so much.

 

“Since when we do forsake our own people? Thorin, they are dying out there.” Dwalin had approached his king, trying to talk to him, but Thorin was sucked into his own madness to really care.

 

“There are halls beneath halls within this mountain – places we can fortify.” Thorin was murmuring and the angry and disappointed look on Dwalin’s face spoke volumes to me.

 

“Shore up, make safe. Yes… Yes – that is it. We must move the gold further underground – to safety!”

 

I stepped out of the shadows at that, striding angrily up as Thorin began to walk away from Dwalin and the throne.

 

“Did you not hear me?! Dain is surrounded! They’re being slaughtered, Thorin!” Dwalin shouted at Thorin’s back.

 

“Ostanna is out there being held captive by that damned elf king and for all we know, she could be dead! Do you even _care_ about her?” I added in, gripping my staff in hand tight enough that my fingers were cramping and my knuckles were white.

 

“Many die in war. Life is cheap. But a treasure such as this cannot be counted in lives lost. It is worth all the blood we can spend!”

 

“So even the woman you claim to love is included in this? You would throw her away for all that treasure? You disgust me, dwarf.” I spat at him and turned away, hoping Dwalin could do better.

 

“You sit here in these vast halls, with a crown upon your head, and yet you are lesser now than you ever have been.” The sadness and disappointment was palpable and it even affected me.

 

“Do not speak to me as if I was some lowly dwarf lord… As-As if I were still… Thorin… Oakenshield. I AM YOUR KING!” Thorin roared and pulled out his sword, but he was so mental and unbalanced, he nearly fell over.

 

“You were always my king. You used to know that once. You cannot see what you’ve become. I am glad Ostanna cannot see you now because it would break her heart.” Dwalin had bowed his head and I put a hand on his shoulder. I actually liked Dwalin and thought he was a decent sort of fellow and my heart went out to him.

 

“Go! Get out… before I kill you.”

 

I shook my head, disgusted, and walked out of the throne room, going to find Varric and my brother. I wasn’t under any obligation to Thorin and neither were they, so I was going to take charge and lead them out to help fight. I didn’t like just sitting around, so I was going to take charge and lead an assault on the orcs to try and ease up some of their fighting.

 

“Varric! Carver! Let’s go, we’re going to kill some assholes and find Ostanna.” I called out when I saw them and they cheered, hefting their weapons and followed me out to the rope Bilbo used to get down and we waded out into the fray, determined to help in any way possible.

 

 

~*~*~

 

[Ostanna’s POV]

 

Fighting was getting more difficult; my armor was fucked and I was bleeding a lot from a lot of places and it was slowing me down quite a bit. I wiped the back of my mouth, spitting blood off onto the stone next to me and swallowed hard, exhausted, but I had to keep fighting, I had to find Thorin. The city was a little less crowded so I figured it was safe enough for me to go out to the field to search for Thorin when I saw him and the other come running out of Erebor and a smile lit my face. I ran as fast as my tired legs could carry me, eager to reach Thorin, when I slipped and tumbled, rolling across the ground, getting kicked and trampled before I could scramble up to my feet, one of my blades missing and my other one broken, leaving it jagged and much more deadly than before. I cut through two more orcs, crying out when a blade sliced through my armor and bit into my back, sending me crashing to the ground and rolling a few times. I groaned but got back up and kept running, sliding under orcs and using them to spring further ahead until I was only a few feet away from where Thorin was fighting. Our eyes locked and I beamed at him happily when I felt a sharp and sudden pain bloom through my stomach. My smile quickly disappeared as I looked down to see a bloody blade poking through my armor and blood welling up around the intruding blade. I slowly looked back up at Thorin, blood bubbling up in my mouth as the blade twisted around and pushed further out of my stomach.

 

“No! Ostanna!” Thorin bellowed, cutting his opponent down and racing towards me. A boot clad foot pressed against my back and I felt it push me forward as the blade was pulled backwards and I collapsed in a heap to the ground, choking on my own blood.

 

“No, no, no. No. No. You can’t die. Not from this. You survived a fucking dragon, damn it! Please, love, stay with me.” Thorin had pulled me into his lap, holding me tightly in his arms and I gasped for air, reaching a trembling, bloody arm up, my fingers touching his face lightly, smiling though the blood that was still bubbling out of my lips.

 

“ _Ma vhenan_ … _‘ma’lath_ … I love you so much… Be kind to yourself. Be kind to our friends.” I whispered, coughing hard a few times. The blood was getting thicker and making it harder to breathe. Warm tears spattered on my face as Thorin wept over me, burying his face into my neck, and I pressed a soft kiss to his hand before closing my eyes and letting my world go dark.

 

~*~*~

 

[Thorin’s POV]

 

The battle was over and Azog was dead along with my love and I could not bear to see her on her funeral pyre. She had been cleaned and dressed in the finest gowns and she wore the jewelry I had made for her. Now before we set the fire, everyone was here to pay their respects and say their goodbyes to her.

 

“ _Ane mala vasreëm_.” Hawke murmured to her before pressing a soft kiss to her pale, cold hand and moving on.

 

“I’m so sorry, Wolf Eyes. If I had known how this would have all played out, I would never have brought you along.” Varric said quietly, squeezing her hand tightly before moving on. Soon enough, it was my turn and I reached out with trembling fingers to gently touch her silky soft blonde hair and pale face.

 

“I am sorry my love. I wish things had been different. I am sorry that I hurt you in the way I did. If I had been a better man, maybe you wouldn’t have left and we could have lived happily together. My greed got you killed.” My chest hurt and I felt empty inside as I sat next to her body, watching her peaceful face with tear filled eyes.

 

“One day, I will see you on the other side. I love you, Ostanna Lavellan. I love you, I love you, I love you.” I continued with a choked sob, placed a gentle kiss to her still warm lips and lit the pyre. Ostanna’s Keeper lit the other side of her pyre and Iron Bull, her mercenary captain, added his torch as well.

 

“What did you say to her, Hawke?” I asked when the gaunt mage came over and stood by me quietly.

 

“I told her that she’s now free.” He murmured, watching her burn. I didn’t say anything and watched her burn, too.

 

_I hope that wherever you are, you’re happy and free of pain my love._


End file.
